


Discharged and Deported

by taytay1994



Category: Bohemian Rhapsody (Movie 2018) Actor RPF
Genre: Explicit Language, Explicit Sexual Content, It's the future but they aren't old, M/M, Modern Era, Multi, Politics, Soldiers, War, think in their 20s
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-08-31
Updated: 2019-09-29
Packaged: 2020-10-03 20:02:29
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 15
Words: 22,790
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20458664
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/taytay1994/pseuds/taytay1994
Summary: The year is 2036, and engineer/architect Joe Mazzello is stationed at an American military base in England. He is enjoying life across the pond when political unrest back on US soil interrupts any sense of normalcy. Suddenly, he finds himself at the mercy of the Royal Armed Forces, and one particular Captain Ben Hardy.





	1. Buried Truth

**Author's Note:**

> It was kind of a prologue for you guys, but I hope you enjoyed :) Don't worry, we'll meet Ben soon. 
> 
> Like the tags say, it's set in a future AU, but I'm imagining the actors in their 20s, despite age differences and timelines and all that jazz. But imagine them however you want.  
Also, I'm American so I'm allowed to talk shit lol. I don't wanna step on any toes politically, so I've changed party names and left the president unnamed. I would like to make a disclaimer that I am personally liberal and support equal human rights.

Following the second world war, the US military maintained bases all throughout Europe and the United Kingdom. With the exception of former French president Charles de Gaulle’s decision to oust the Americans in the 1960s, most countries accepted their presence. That is, until the 2036 election marked the start of a new era - A terrorist regime took hold in the heart of America. The United States was run by the  _ haves _ but populated by the  _ have-nots _ . The wealth disparity had become so large, that more than 75% of Americans were living below the poverty line. Due to backwards country stipulations on government assistance being allocated per child, overpopulation by the poorest was a real problem. State governments, tilted by lobbying of large corporations, held fast in their refusal to raise minimum wages. With government officials being too greedy to arrange national healthcare, or sufficient welfare, the country was starving and dying. The government was becoming frustrated with the growing number of applications for unemployment, disability, section 8, and the like. 

That’s when the rich and powerful began devising their depopulation plan. The country was supposed to be led by a president, but at this point, a president was just a placeholder, a marionette controlled by anyone around him with enough money. After all, everyone has a price in politics. Once the Baron Party had gained control over 2 out of the 3 branches of government, nobody had the power to stop them. They would need a scapegoat. And so, playing on the extreme impoverished state of the American people, they blamed a border crisis.  _ We’ll build an impassable wall, and begin a cleansing. Nobody comes, nobody goes.  _ Anyone and everyone who was enlisted in the US military at that time, was mobilized for the cause. And many people who weren’t, signed themselves up. While many citizens were not so much interested in rounding up and deporting immigrants, they were interested in feeding their families, and the military promised them that they would be taken care of, and compensated for their efforts. And just like that, America became a police state. And the military was running massive ICE raids in every major city, from Atlanta to Tallahassee. 

It started innocently enough. After all, it was easy for soldiers to tell themselves they were doing the country a justice by capturing illegal refugees. Without visas, green cards, or citizenship, their residence was by law, unwarranted. _How can it be wrong to fight something that is technically illegal?_ _Besides, they aren’t being jailed or fined. Just sent back. They can make a life in their home country. There isn’t enough food or wealth to go around in this one. _This was the justification that would eventually desensitize men and women into committing atrocities. Sure, it began with deporting undocumented immigrants, but for the money hungry government, that didn’t eliminate enough of the population. 

The government began using documented records to hunt down families of naturalized and processed immigrants. If you weren’t a born citizen, you were no longer welcome. Even those who were active military members were done away with. Troops were ordered and instructed on how to racially profile people on the streets, and were encouraged to conduct regular stops. Anyone with an accent, with different colored skin, with an exotic look - was subject to random searches. It was all the same to them whether you came from South America, the Caribbean islands, the Middle East, or anywhere else in the world. If you weren’t born here, you can’t stay here. Even those born to illegal immigrants on American grounds had to leave. 

  
With dissension growing among the other developed countries, a mass movement to disassociate themselves from the United States began. Now America found itself embroiled in a war on immigration, and on the precipice of a war with Europe and the UK. 

\----------

It was just another day in Northamptonshire, England. At Croughton air force base, both US and UK military personnel were toiling about their details at the station. Some running drills, others doing routine training, and one particular soldier, brooding over a set of blueprints. A clever red-haired boy with a pale complexion, Joseph Mazzello. He stared down at the strange looking architectural design he’d been engineering for the last month. He was, in fact, the only United States military member present with the clearance level required for the project, so he had to go it alone without any feedback. If he finalized the plan, it would either be sent back after review, requiring adjustments, or accepted and he’d likely never know what became of it. 

Recently, there had been a large influx of requests to have large-scale underground base prints drawn up for construction back in the homeland. The US has always had underground bases, be them built into mountains or just plainly underground. But for some reason, Joe noticed a huge push to build more - build them bigger and faster.  _ What could they possibly need all of these hidden bases for,  _ he wondered, but at the end of the day, he was following orders. What higher ups did was out of his hands, and even more so from across the pond. 

Joe enjoyed being stationed in England. The afternoon teas, the rolling shires, even the cloudy, overcast skies were welcome in his world. This base had become his home. He, along with all of the other US military staff who worked on overseas bases, had been more or less kept in the dark about the action their military had been taking back home for the past few months. You would catch a scandalous headline in a paper here and there that read something along the lines of  _ American Anti-Immigrant Sentiment Fuels Second Holocaust,  _ but they all just wrote it off as sensationalized journalism. Sure, they heard about mass deportations, but they weren’t there, and they weren’t taking part. So, what did it matter to them?

But today, it would affect them all in a very real way. The halls were abuzz with whispers and rumors being mumbled under their breath.  _ Bases….labor camps…no deportations.  _ Joe caught snippets of hushed words as he made his way to the mess hall for some coffee. He was just taking a seat to enjoy his cappuccino when the sound of marching of boots coming down the aisle caught his attention. A squad of Royal force members held the area at gunpoint with their intimidating rifles. 

“Everyone, hands up, badges out! Now,” the man at the front shouted.

Joe silently complied, a little shaken, as he set down his drink, stood up, flipped his ID badge out and put his hands in the air.  _ Is there an intruder here? Who are they looking for? _

“All American personnel are being hereby detained by order of her Majesty the queen!” 

Joe’s wide eyes darted around the room, searching the horrified faces of his fellow American servicemen and women who were so abruptly being taken hostage. One of the militia approached him, squinting at his badge, and promptly pushed him into the herd of others whose time was up. And they were marched, like dangerous criminals, guns pointed at their backs, to a large gymnasium. Once inside, they were sorted by a whole list of criteria. Gender, rank, skills, and jobs. The place looked like a storm shelter, where an entire city had sought refuge, but the reality was quite the opposite. This room was a giant holding cell for POWs, or at least soon to be. They sat for hours, waiting on the shining, waxed wooden floor.  _ My ass, _ he thought as he shifted uncomfortably on the hard surface. As the time went on, more groups of Americans were brought in. Like clockwork, the search squads would cycle in and out, each time bringing back about 20 some new people to drop off.  _ They can’t really be taking us all in at once, can they?  _

His thoughts were interrupted by an announcement echoing over a megaphone, 

“I know many of you have questions, but we ask you to please stay calm and cooperate. This is a necessary, preemptive action being taken to keep the peace. This is for the greater good of us all. Should your leaders have any sense at all, you will all be free in no time. However, due to the unfavorable political climate in your county, Her Majesty wishes to cut ties with the United States military. So, upon your release, the condition remains that you will all be promptly returned to your homeland.”

_ A war? What’s really been happening back at home? What will happen to us now?  _


	2. Underground

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Joe learns the truth about the sinister workings of the US military, and aims to make things right.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for any typos, posting this quickly before work. 
> 
> Thank you all for your support so far :)

Most of the room had been sorted and cleared, and the Americans-turned-hostages were taken to undisclosed holding areas. The fluorescent lights of the gym glared down on Joe, now the last man left sitting, still awaiting his placement. It was then that a decorated officer approached him, his polished boots tapping on the floor as he grew near. Joe looked up at a blonde man who was staring down at him expectantly. 

“Group Captain Hardy,” he said gruffly, extending his hand. 

The redhead promptly stood up to shake it. “Lieutenant Joseph Mazzello,” he nodded.

“I know,” the green-eyed man replied smoothly in a deep, British accent. 

“So, is anybody gonna tell me what’s going on here? Like, what’s  _ actually _ going on,” Joe demanded, crossing his arms impatiently. 

“I’m sure we can arrange that, provided you accept our proposal,” the captain replied, as he held out a contract to the auburn haired engineer. 

Joe took it, and uninterestedly flipped through the pages, “you wanna be a doll, and summarize this for me,” he requested sarcastically, already feeling skeptical.

“Sure,” the officer smirked, “let me make it very simple for you, Mazzello. You either work for me, or become a hostage indefinitely.”

“Why me? You had several hundred other American personnel at your disposal,” Joe stared the other man down suspiciously.

“Oh, you know why,” Hardy began, “you can’t keep secrets anymore. We’ve confiscated all of your documents already anyways.”

“You want to make a whistle blower out of me, huh,” Joe rolled his eyes.

“Sir, do you know what your architectural designs are being used for as we speak,” he inquired.

“I honestly couldn’t tell you, Captain Hardy. They don’t indulge me with details of the finished product,” he stated.

“Labor camps,” the British man stated gravely. 

“Pardon me?”

“Surely you must’ve heard the big news,” he drawled, raising his brows.

Joe stopped glossing over the contract and looked up at the other quizzically.

“Your plans were used to construct a series of hidden, underground bases that have been serving as concentration camps for the supposed “deportees” in your country. In other words, they never made it back to their homes. They instead became a free labor force, bolstering your country’s unstable economy with the sweat off their backs. And according to witness reports, the conditions are abhorrent. We’ve got a true humanitarian crisis on our hands. In short, that’s why everything’s suddenly gone to hell in a hand basket for you and your colleagues.” 

Joe clenched his fists, crumpling the corner of the contract in his palm. _Can this be true?_ He felt victimized, yet guilty at the same time. They were using his plans to exploit thousands, if not millions of innocent people. They hid the truth from everyone. In that moment, his body burned with a fury that made him break into a cold sweat.  _ Justice _ . For all he cared, the corrupt leaders and military powers of the USA could be wiped off the face of the earth. And if he could contribute to making it a reality, he would. 

“There was mention of a threat of war. Will you follow through?”

“We, along with all of our allies, are prepared to liberate America by any means necessary,” the blonde answered coldly. 

“Ok, get me a pen,” Joe said through gritted teeth, waving the contract in the air. 

\---------------

Mazzello stood alone in his appointed quarters, pacing back and forth. Well, to say they were “his” was putting it loosely. At this base, officers and those of lower status had separate housing in flats sized anywhere from two to four rooms. So, now he found himself staying in a two bedroom apartment with officer Hardy, to serve as an assistant and informant. 

The studio was lofty considering he was just a glorified, contracted hostage. But despite the comforts of his room, he couldn’t relax.  _ How could I have been so blind, _ he mulled over the overwhelming feeling of mental anguish.  _ They exploited them, they exploited me, my knowledge,  _ he lamented, fueling his sense of betrayal. He pounded his fist against the wall. He felt the urgency to take action, to get revenge. But there was nothing he could do at that moment.  _ They’re trying to prevent a war? Why? Obliterate them. They deserve it,  _ he thought, pacing more feverishly before flopping face-first onto his bed in frustration. He groaned into the covers, but was abruptly snapped from his tantrum when he heard his door click open. Joe rolled over to see the captain standing at the threshold. 

“I understand your frustrations, Lieutenant, but would you  _ please  _ keep it down,” he said with an air of annoyance, “we may very well both be ranking officers, but in this situation you answer to me. So, what I say goes. Clear?”

Joe cast a disapproving glance at the other, and held his gaze for a few seconds before speaking up. 

“Whatever, Captain,” he replied dismissively, “how ‘bout you knock next time. Clear?”

Hardy merely shrugged as if to say _ touché _ , and promptly left the room, slamming the door markedly harder than necessary behind him. 

_ This has been one hell of a day,  _ he reflected, laying back on his bed as the sunset illuminated the walls around him.  _ An accessory to crime by lunchtime, and assistant to douchebag Hardy by dinner. Damn productive if you ask me _ , he almost laughed to himself. 

\------------------

The next morning, Joe woke up to the sound of his alarm. He always felt most productive in the morning, so it was a habit for him to wake up at 5am. Ever since basic training, he found that rising at the crack of dawn was hardwired into him, as most military personnel did. But it didn’t appear to be this way for his new flatmate. Joe, already in full uniform, made for the kitchenette and tried to figure out where he kept the coffee.  _ It’s awfully silent in here if he’s awake. Could he have left already,  _ Joe wondered. While he waited for the machine to begin brewing, he tip-toed over to the other bedroom door, which was situated on the opposite end of the apartment from his own room. He listened at the door for a moment for any sound of life inside. After a few moments of silence, he cautiously pushed the door open. Peeking in through a crack, he saw his new partner still fast asleep.  _ What am I supposed to do when my “superior” isn’t even awake to give me orders, _ he judged, taking in the sight of the blonde man, haphazardly tangled up in his sheets, bare ass exposed to the world.  _ Yikes. He sleeps naked, _ he thought, as his eyes lingered a second too long on the other man’s sculpted bottom. He quickly backed out and shut the door as carefully as possible, but accidentally did so with too much force in his haste. 

_ Shit, _ he cursed himself as he scurried back to the kitchen to pour himself some coffee and act like he had been minding his business the entire time. He had barely sat down and crossed one leg over the other when the door clicked open to reveal a still very naked group captain, with just a blanket wrapped around his hips. He stood there in the doorway, looking groggy and glared at Joe. 

“Can I help you with something,” he grunted.

“Being awake on time would be a good start,” Joe tried to play it cool, “seeing as I can’t exactly get anything accomplished without your command.”

“Alright, then. First orders for today - DO NOT enter my room without permission,” he replied, clearly irritated, before disappearing again. 

Several minutes passed as Joe drank his coffee and read an outdated newspaper he found laying around. Finally, the British officer emerged, now also in uniform. The two made awkward eye contact for a moment as he walked over to also grab a cup of coffee. 

Joe laughed under his breath, “it’s a lot easier to take you seriously when you aren’t naked, Hardy.”

“Well, you kind of went out of your way to see that, didn’t you? It’s not exactly like I flashed you. And now that you’ve seen me nude, you may as well just call me Ben,” he added pointedly, sitting across from Joe at the small table and sipping his drink. 

Joe chose not to respond, and instead finished off the last of his coffee.

“I have a meeting today regarding updates on the American decision. If they agree to withdraw from the UK, and the rest of western Europe, there shouldn’t be a war. Either way, our forces will be invading North America to disassemble these camps, and get the victims back to their respective countries. That’s where you come in. You are familiar with the placements, locations, and designs of such bases. We haven’t confirmed any locations except for one in Northern Texas. Furthermore, we’ll need intel on security measures.”

“Sure, just tell me what you need to know,” Joe agreed.

Ben laid a thick stack of Joe’s recent blue prints out on the table before him.

“We’ll start with these. Mark them up with everything you know about each individual plan. Proposed location, access, security - the whole nine yards. When I get back, I’ll let you know which way things are headed,” the blonde said, as he left for the conference. 

_ I’m gonna need another cup of coffee.  _


	3. What's the Plan?

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> War is inevitable. But what's the plan? Invade them, of course.

Hours had passed with Ben away at the meeting, and Joe pouring over dozens of blueprints from the past couple of months. He meticulously scribbled every detail he could think of, one by one. And in addition to that, he drew up a shortlist of every “confirmed” base he remembered. He still had access to all of the military databases, so he would have to take some time to rifle through those and dig up what he could. After what felt like an eternity, Captain Hardy returned.

“Soooo, what’s the verdict,” Joe hummed, sounding hopeful.

“I think you already have a good idea of how stubborn your country is,” Ben responded seriously, “but I think they’ve outdone themselves this time.”

“You’re kidding, right? There’s no way they’d pick a fight with the whole EU,” Joe huffed dubiously.

“Well, it looks like they just did. Despite our hostages, they refused to pull out. They insist on maintaining military presence here. We have no choice but to respond with force. The plan now is to take all foreign based American military members as POWs. We aren’t interested in attacking the bases on our soil. A fleet will be departing for the American northeast coast at 22:00 tomorrow night. You and I will be aboard an aircraft carrier, along with other air force squadrons.”

“Who will cover ground control when we reach the shores? You know they’ll be expecting us, right?”

“The Marines, Navy, and Army will be coming along on all the ships we’ve got. We’re bringing tanks, humvees, amphibious vehicles - you name it. When we hit the beach, those guys are gonna storm the front lines. Any and all American military resistance will be met with open fire. Since we will likely have to traverse a lot of mountainous regions, the air force will have the best mobility. Therefore, we will be leading the search and rescue mission. Find a base, liberate it, move on to the next one. Have we overlooked anything?”

“PE-4,” Joe said bluntly, “we’re gonna need  _ a lot _ of PE-4”. 

*footnote: pe-4 is the British equiv of c-4. Explosives. Boom! You get the idea, I’ll shut up now.

\----------------------------

There were so many preparations to be made, Joe couldn’t fathom how they would be ready to depart in only one day. Considering it was winter, too, that only made things worse. They needed to pack winter gear, and special rations. More of everything, basically. He considered himself lucky that he’d be moving with the air force, and not stuck with the men on the ground. They would surely be facing the worst of the elements. If they would be entering via a northeastern port, they would likely have to cross the Appalachian mountain range, which would no doubt be treacherous this time of year. But he still had faith. After all, UK natives are no strangers to cold and damp weather. 

Joe played out all of the scenarios in his head as he went for his morning run. Ben was piloting a jet, most likely running drills with his flight team to keep them on their toes for the real deal. Of course, he would also have to assist with transferring planes onto the ships. Meanwhile, teams of soldiers were working to move supplies to the port, and get everything prepped for the voyage. It would probably take no less than 6 days to cross the Atlantic. Other groups were stuck in mission briefings, being informed on the action to come. Unsurprisingly, upon learning the truth about the “deportations”, many of the American hostages volunteered to help the cause. Their inside knowledge would be an invaluable asset to the British forces. 

Joe got back to the flat, and immediately went to work determining the best travel path through the US. The least perilous path for the ground forces, and the most efficient for the rescue squad. They would have to land at a very large port that could accommodate the entire fleet. Perhaps New York/New Jersey port. It was probably the largest and they could make landfall there sooner than if they traversed further south by sea, which would risk them being noticed before they could storm the shores.

_ That’s it, we’ll land at NY port, and work our way inland to Fort Dix in NJ. Once we overtake it, that base will serve as our HQ and stronghold, and it will give us access to many more vehicles and resources for the men on the ground, _ Joe planned. It all sounded fine in his head, it’s just a matter of how smoothly it would all play out in real life. Trying to conquer one of the United States’ largest bases as a first move would be no easy feat, but then again, it’s  _ one base  _ versus the  _ entire Royal army _ . 

22:00 had arrived, and sure enough, departure was a go. The redhead boarded the massive aircraft carrier with a sense of awe. ‘Massive’ might be an understatement. This ship was gigantic, and impressive to say the least.  _ Definitely a force to be reckoned with _ , Joe concluded, as he walked along the deck at Ben’s side, his pack overstuffed and heavy on his back. 

“Let me show you where we’re staying,” the flight captain said off-handedly, as he led the engineer to the lower decks. 

Ben pushed open the door to their tiny quarters, which were barely bigger than a walk-in closet. But it was still better than bunking in the racks with all the general enlistees. Only officers got these private rooms. It was a snug area with a top and bottom bunk, along with a compact desk. With the two of them inside at the same time, it almost felt like they had to hug the walls to pass each other. Joe casually tossed his bag onto the lower bunk. 

“Think again, hotshot,” Ben said as he picked the other man’s stuff up and threw it on the top bunk, “I’ve got dibs on the bottom.”

Joe crossed his arms and frowned at the other man, “guess it’s better that way. What with you being a deviant, sleeping naked and all. I wouldn’t wanna have to witness that every time you need to climb down for something,” he snickered.

The blonde bit his lower lip mischievously, the corner of his mouth tugged up into a smirk. 

“You’d love it, I know,” Ben responded arrogantly. 

\-----------------

Joe was so busy holed up in the tiny room, that the journey towards US shores seemed to fly by. He had been accessing all of the relevant databases he could think of, and storing any file that may come in handy. Ben was typically up on the flight deck, briefing his company or running some kind of training exercise. He was without a doubt the more active of the two. In fact, aside from the occasional morning run, Joe had really let himself go in the PT department. But, while he may not be as fit as the other guys, he was confident that his mind was one of the sharpest - especially with all this damned planning he had to do. 

If it weren't for his partner popping in from time to time and luring him out to the top deck for some fresh air, he might never have left that cubby they called a room. 

“Hey, I grabbed you a cup of coffee,” Ben said softly, setting the drink down next to Joe, breaking him out of his studious trance. 

He looked up at the other with his tired hazel eyes and let a lazy smile grace his lips, “thanks,” he sighed, taking a sip. As soon as it touched his lips, he made an ugly expression and recoiled at the bitterness. 

“Ugh, nevermind. No, thanks,” he joked, pushing the cup back towards Ben.

“What? You don’t take it black,” the green eyed man questioned, still laughing at Joe’s reaction, “oh, well. What can I say?  _ You’re _ the assistant.  _ You  _ should be the one fetching coffee, not me.”

“What kind of sick sadist would give an unsuspecting man black coffee,” Joe said dramatically, still making a face of distaste. 

Ben smirked and furrowed his brows pensively, “hmm, I guess I’ve never really explored that side of myself before. Maybe you can  _ assist me _ with that,” he winked coyly. 

Joe felt himself short-circuit for a second, and couldn’t manage a response. Instead he awkwardly cleared his throat and closed his laptop as a distraction from his flustered state. 

“And I thought being cooped up on this ship was making  _ me _ go crazy,” he finally managed a rebuttal, rolling his eyes at Ben. 

The blonde reached out and laid his hand atop Joe’s, smiling, “both of us, probably. I don’t want you to overwork yourself. Come up to the top deck with me. We can get you a proper coffee,” he laughed. 

  
  
  
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry this one got so technical and heavy with war strategy drabble.  
I figured I'd clarify all of that now and get it out of the way. Also, my military knowledge is limited, so feel free to call me out on my bullshit. Lol. 
> 
> So far, their relationship is reminding me of Winters and Nixon from Band of Brothers - good ass show if you like war stuff, btw. Lots of bromance ;o
> 
> Thanks for all of the support, homies. Love ya.


	4. Liberation

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The men get their first taste of the horrific labor camps.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm sorry to say it gets a bit dark towards the end of this chapter, but I had to paint the picture here -  
the war is necessary!
> 
> Thanks for reading and all the kudos. Your comments give me life. And AGAIN, don't be afraid to call me out on my bullshit cause I'm probably writing this military stuff all wrong >.<
> 
> Oh and uh - beware the dorky Queen song reference.

The pair spent their final days at sea reviewing Joe’s duties for when it was time to take to the skies. He and Ben would be flying together, and it was up to Joe to navigate the mission. 

Joe’s engineer role was technically classified as a branch of the army, so he had no formal flight experience. Together, they spent hours getting him up to speed on all of the in-flight systems and instruments. Thankfully, he was a fast learner.

Today marked his first test-flight. He felt a sense of thrill building as he hopped into the second seat of the jet. He strapped on all of the necessary gear, which weighed heavily on his neck and head. They conducted all of the safety checks and tested the intercom. Finally, they were prepared for take-off in the regal eurofighter. The jet was gaining height, and the skies were clear. However, Joe being a first time flier, was intensely focused on his breathing and leg exercises to prevent a fainting spell. He didn’t really consider taking the time to appreciate the lovely view. Over the headset, Ben was nonchalantly quizzing Joe on various measurements. Which, with some forced effort, the newcomer could confirm correctly. 

“Good work. You know, maybe you _really can_ teach an old dog new tricks,” the blonde laughed, “you don’t make for such a bad co pilot after all, Joe.”

“Just shut up and focus on flying,” Joe retorted, breathing already a bit labored in the high altitude. 

“What was that? You wanna have some fun,” the pilot’s sly grin was concealed behind his oxygen mask.

“Wha - no!”

But it was too late to protest as the pilot quickly picked up speed, accruing more and more Gs with a rapid descent, before maneuvering a tight barrel roll. 

“Woooo! How about that for some fun, partner,” the captain shouted excitedly as he leveled out the aircraft. 

No response. 

“ _ Partner _ ?”

Ben waited for an answer, and upon hearing nothing in return he merely laughed and shrugged.

“Oops,” he announced aloud, knowing his co pilot had passed out, “another one bites the dust,” he joked to himself as he made for a landing. 

“Earth to Joe”, Ben’s voice echoed in the redhead’s ears. He jolted upright, still seated in the jet, Ben standing over him on the rolling stairs that were situated beside the cockpit for dismount. He looked around, feeling disoriented. 

“Come on,” Ben took his hand and hoisted him out of the plane, helping him down to the deck of the carrier, “don’t worry, it’s more common than you think,” he said, a hand still firmly on Joe’s shoulder to keep him upright. 

Joe playfully pushed the other away.

“No thanks to you,” he laughed, “shitty pilot if you ask me”.

\--------------------------------

It was the last night they would sleep at sea. Tomorrow's nightfall would serve as cover for their assault. Tensions were running high, but everyone aboard knew their roles and felt confident. Joe had never seen the action of the front lines. In fact, neither had Ben. In their military careers, there hadn’t been any wars of that sort. But they had each other, and they would be sticking together. Joe knew he could count on his new friend, but he was doubting his ability to hold his own in battle. He forced this negativity to the back of his mind as he climbed up into the top bunk. 

His head had barely hit the pillow when Ben entered the room and also started getting ready for bed. Joe propped his elbow up, and rested his chin on his palm to stare down at the other man while he shuffled around the cramped space, hanging up his uniform as he took each piece off. Out of the corner of his eye, Ben noticed the architect watching him, and he glanced over with curious eyes, smiling softly.

“Something the matter, Lieutenant,” he asked flirtatiously as he continued to unbutton his shirt.

“No, it’s just that I was thinking ...you haven’t slept naked since we’ve been on this ship,” Joe laughed, “could it be that you’re shy, captain,” he jested.

“No, not really. Just thought I’d spare you the trouble of trying to sleep with a hard-on every night,” he teased, “but I mean, if you insist,” he said, as he fearlessly pulled his briefs down and kicked them into the corner.

Joe’s cheeks flushed, and he threw his pillow at the offending man before him. 

“Don’t be so hasty, for fucks sake,” Joe laughed while shielding his eyes with his hand.

He felt the thump of his pillow being placed back down beside his head, and he uncovered his eyes to reveal Ben’s handsome face only inches from his own. They stared at each other in awkward silence for a few moments, and Joe swore he could see a look in the other man’s eyes that was daring him to make a move. But he swallowed it down and broke the gaze, laying back on his pillow. 

“We - uh, should get some rest,” he said nervously.

“Yeah,” Ben sighed with an air of exhaustion as he slid into the lower bunk, “night,” he added as he flicked off the lights. 

\------------------

Their flight company was comprised of 4 squadrons of 12 fighter typhoons each. Joe and Ben would be leading the charge navigationally speaking, but in terms of calling attacks they had the help of another, more experienced flight lieutenant named Gwilym Lee. Ben had worked under him for awhile now, and had a lot of confidence in his leadership skills. 

All the men on the flight deck and in the hangars boarded their jets and readied for take off. They began the process of transferring the planes from the lower levels up to the surface. Ben and Joe would be the first to take off, directing the formation. Since the troops on the ground were aiming to use Fort Dix as a headquarters, and utilize its resources, airstrikes were unreasonable. They would cause too much collateral damage. Therefore, the ground forces would be left behind while their flight unit would head to its first confirmed labor camp target - Cheyenne Mountain base in Colorado. Of course, there would be other flight squadrons remaining behind on the ships in the event that airstrikes would be called in as support for the army corps. 

Lucky or unlucky enough, they arrived late at night, under the cover of a heavy snow storm. Of course, the massive ships will have most certainly been noticed at the port by now, but not by anyone with the power to do anything. At least not immediately. The air team would have a stealth advantage in the blizzard, but it also worsened visibility. Either way, the time had arrived. Joe climbed into the jet, coordinates ready, and adjusted his helmet and mask. Ben was all strapped in, the rest of the team queuing up for the runway. 

“Alright, Joe. You ready,” Ben’s voice sounded over the headset. 

“Yes, as ready as I’ll ever be to invade my own country,” he joked weakly, "you think if we get married, I'll get British citizenship?"

“I'll consider it if you manage to not pass out this time,” the captain remarked as he taxied the craft into position, “if you start to feel dizzy, just think about my beautiful, naked body. That’ll get the blood flowing, I bet,” he teased. 

“ _ Yeah _ , to the wrong places,” Joe snapped sarcastically. 

“Alright,  _ lovebirds, _ we copy. Lee over here. Do you read me,” Lieutenant Gwilym’s voice came in over their communication system. 

“Yes, sir. Loud and clear. Preparing for take off,” Hardy replied, seemingly unaffected that his whole unit probably just overheard that conversation with Joe. The auburn haired man sitting behind him, however, wanted to die from embarrassment. 

The ground forces were already making their way onto the shores to begin their trek to Fort Dix. At a cruising speed, it would take the flight crew about 3 hours to reach the Cheyenne base. They would have to land in a flat, inconspicuous area and travel by foot to the mountain. Joe had already worked out a safe area of topography. 

Upon arrival they scanned the area for clearance and touched down. One group was in charge of staying behind to guard the jets and arrange a rendezvous with local humanitarian aid organizations, such as the Red Cross, to help manage the prisoners upon release. 

The others, including Ben and Joe, hiked to the entrance of the base. They were all equipped with machine guns, grenades, silenced pistols, and a few men were in charge of sniping. Since this was a mountain base, the risk was too great to try and blast their way in with explosives. So, they had to use the front door. Fortunately, security at the labor camps wasn’t nearly as tight as any old base. To the US military, these immigrants were weak and easy to control. Not to mention, expendable and not worth wasting too much manpower. Their forces were put to better use protecting expensive weapons. 

A sniper took out the first two sentries at the entrance from a distance, and the group moved in, slowly making their way down the seemingly endless tunnel that took them to the bowels of the mountain. They weren’t but halfway in when the stench hit them. It smelled like carrion, and a combination of all the foul things you could imagine. A grim clue of what horrors lay ahead. The snipers paused to scope out the path ahead. All clear. 

At the end of the tunnel, the base opened up. And everywhere they looked, they saw humans behind chain link fences - overcrowded, starved, and living in their own filth. They cried out for help in many different languages. The men slowly made their way through the converted textile factory, heartbroken at the sight. It was so much worse than the witness reports could’ve ever explained. But it sure made killing the influx of guards so much more rewarding. When the slaughter was finally over, they all went around, setting the prisoners free cage by cage with wire cutters. At the end of it all, they probably freed several hundred people. But death had already come for so many. Rotting corpses were haphazardly discarded in piles around the godforsaken facility. 

But all they could do was lead the survivors back to the landing point, where aid was set to arrive in a matter of hours. Some were in such a poor state, they had to be carried. Children smiled, families thanked them. But the gratification didn’t ease the gut-wrenching shock. It wouldn't quell the nightmares to come. All they could do was try their best. 


	5. Too Easy

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Did the Americans make a grand mistake challenging the whole EU?   
Anyone could've seen that coming.

As suspected, there would be a lag after each liberation, during which the rescue squad was most vulnerable. The time it took aid to reach their camp was longer than expected. Red Cross wasn’t prepared to sustain such a large population on short notice. So, the flight squad was stuck on the ground, camping it out the old fashioned way until they could make for their next destination. Luckily, they hadn’t yet been met with resistance, and since the Red Cross is a neutral party, they weren’t interested in ratting out their position. 

Positive news came from the other forces back in New Jersey. They had radioed in at dawn the next day, confirming good progress on the capture of Fort Dix. British forces had the situation under their control, but there were mass casualties - mostly on the American side. They were hoping to avoid a high body count. The initial plan was that the personnel would surrender the base when they realized how outnumbered they were, but then again - the sheer element of surprise seemed to have knocked all the sense from their heads. It was an all out blitz. But they still kept their fingers crossed that this would be a warning to the US: they are outmatched and a surrender is the best course of action.

The team made the most of their time on the ground, taking shifts to try and sleep while they could. But even in tents, it was bitterly cold. They had offered as many blankets and warm clothes as they could spare to the survivors while they waited. 

“ _ Fuck, _ ” Joe hissed through his blue, shivering lips. He and Ben were in their small tent trying to take a nap, but it seemed like he’d die of hypothermia before that happened. With each exhale, he could see his soul leaving his body. Ben was laying on his side, as well, facing the opposite way. It was evident his body was shaking, too. Joe weakly pulled his wrist up to his face to read the thermometer on his military watch. -6 °C. 

Joe heard his partner rolling over, and he also switched sides. Now they were face to face, sharing one blanket between the two of them, silently suffering together. They looked at each other pitifully. Ben’s face was pale and his lips were chapped. Joe looked like he had reached a new level of exhaustion, bags under his eyes. Maybe he was just delirious, but Ben cracked a smile and laughed a little. 

Joe sniffled in response, “what could possibly be funny,” he struggled.

“I was just thinking how terrible you look,” he snickered, pulling the blanket up to his chin.

“Oh, thanks,” Joe rolled his eyes, “and you’re looking lovely as ever,” he said sarcastically, voice still quivering in the cold. 

“Alright, well, do you wanna sleep or not,” the flight captain asked seriously.

“Yeah,  _ I’m trying _ , obviously,” Joe retorted. 

“Roll over,” Hardy commanded.

The redhead eyed his comrade suspiciously, but complied and flipped back onto his opposite side. He felt the blonde scoot right up against him, and curl around his body, tucking the blanket in around both of them. His breath was tickling the back of Joe’s neck. It already felt much warmer this way, but Joe still had the urge to protest.

“Ok, but I don’t see why I have to be the little spoon,” he joked.

Ben laid his head lightly against the side of Joe’s neck, and brought his lips dangerously close to the other man’s ear, grazing it gently as he spoke, “guess it depends on how badly you want that citizenship,” he teased, sending a spark throughout Joe’s body. 

_ Now is not the time, _ Joe thought, as he ignored the comment and forced himself to get some rest.

\----------------------------

Eventually, the Red Cross arrived, and it was time for the soldiers to move out. They figured they might be expected at their next target, and would have to adopt a stealthier approach. The unit would be shooting just about 3 hours south to Camp Stanley, located outside of San Antonio, Texas. It was originally used as a store place for weapons, but in the databases, Joe had confirmed the site’s conversion into another labor camp. This place was smaller in comparison, and conveniently not built into a mountain. Instead, there were rows upon rows of long warehouses. 

This time, a much smaller group of them moved onto the premises. Joe had been left behind with the rest of the group guarding the planes. With only 5 men going in, each one had to be highly trained in combat. It had been a long time since Joe had even used the gun range, let alone practiced physical training. Lieutenant Lee and Captain Hardy led the group to one of the back sides of the storage houses, and they checked for signs of life within using a special radar. The coast was clear.

“Be ready boys, they’ll come swarming like flies,” Gwilym said as he stuck a block of PE4 to the wall, and signaled. They all ran back and covered their ears as the explosive was detonated, blowing themselves an opening into one of the lengthy warehouses. The team crawled in behind the rubble and crouched into position, awaiting the arrival of the alerted guards. It was almost alarming how unguarded these camps were. Perhaps the US military was now concentrating its forces in the northeast to counter the “real” threat. And so, the routine continued: Free the people, arrange a rendezvous with aid, and calculate the next route. Thankfully the American south was a lot more hospitable in climate, and everyone could get some proper sleep. 

The next round of bases would be the hardest to infiltrate, as they were underground and they could run the risk of cave-ins on potential life below. However, once they were in the South Western states, they would be there for most of the remainder of the rescue mission. There was a heavy concentration of secret bases built in that one region. Therefore, there was also potential to clear the bases more quickly. Fortunately, the Red Cross had been supplying the crew with civilian rations along the way, so they wouldn’t have to backtrack to the NE for resupply if they could conserve ammo and avoid any mishaps. 

Back at Fort Dix, the British Armed forces had gained solid control. Waves of American troops were periodically sent in to try and reclaim the base, but to no avail. The casualties piled up, and the US military command was feeling the pressure. It had barely been 4 days since the initial invasion, and the disadvantage of the United States was written on the walls.

The general American population didn’t trust the government after the truth had been revealed about the camps. All of the fake claims of deportations. It made the homepage of every major news website. The citizens couldn’t avoid the shocking pictures of victims, haunting skeletons in America's closet. So, needless to say, the American people weren’t supporting the cause of their own military. And those enlisted had no morale left. At this point, the promise of money was the only thing keeping many of the soldiers in service, but what good is money if you’re dead? It seemed a surrender was inevitable.  _ Maybe history does repeat itself, _ the group wondered. Maybe like the Nazi camps at the end of WWII, they’ll come upon them abandoned. That would make everyone’s life easier. 

For now, the squadrons geared up and flew a couple hours west to a remote patch of desert near a small town called Dulce in New Mexico. There, they set up camp for the night. The fighters all sat around, eating their mediocre ration food, trading components with each other to score something they preferred. Joe sat down in the sand with his cup of instant coffee, and Ben beside him with his instant tea. They idly watched the sun set behind the dry terrain. Surprisingly, the climate had shifted drastically from Texas. And they found themselves stuck in an arctic desert evening. It was, in fact, colder than Mount Cheyenne, dipping to a staggering -13 ℃. Conveniently, they had taken an extra supply of blankets along from the Red Cross. Otherwise the night would’ve gone a lot worse. The use of fire simply wasn’t an option, as the smoke was practically a beacon to their position. The pairs went into their respective tents, hot drinks in hand, bundled in blankets, and brought their flameless ration heaters inside, praying that it would make some sort of difference. At the very least, Joe used it to keep his frigid fingers warm. 

Now with the addition of extra blankets, the two might not have_ needed_ to cuddle per se, but they did anyways. And Joe couldn’t help but feel some twisted sense of luck that they were back in a frigid climate. It was worth it, if it meant falling asleep in Ben’s arms even one last time. After all, they needed a good night’s sleep, right? Because at dawn, they would infiltrate the ever mysterious Dulce base.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Dulce base is a only a conspiracy theory, I know. But it's real in this story cause poetic license, dawg. 
> 
> Y'all - I don't even know. It's difficult to transition between war and gay lmao. Help.
> 
> I'm trying my best.


	6. Engaged

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The mission has been easy - too easy.

The team found themselves in a seemingly barren compound. Empty desert land, except for a few warehouses and a silo. If nothing else, the area appeared agricultural in nature. After an hour or so of painstakingly plotting the ground with a radar, Joe pulled out a little flag marker and stuck it in the sand. 

“X marks the spot,” he said as he stood up and brushed the dirt from his pants, “let’s start digging, guys”.

And dig they did. It took all of them working together for hours, just to reveal the top corner of a concrete structure. Their hands were beginning to blister. But they would have to keep going. Not enough of the wall was exposed yet to blast their way in. They spent nearly ten hours burrowing into the ground on rotation before they had sufficient surface exposure of the subterranean building. Joe slapped on an explosive charge, and they all took cover for the detonation. The walls were thick, and it didn’t fully penetrate. Another round, and they were in. Strangely, they weren't met with any prisoners or factories hidden within like all the bases before. It almost looked as if the site was serving as some type of laboratory.

The building housed a few different levels, and the soldiers walked through the corridors, looking around in confusion and shock. There were all sorts of holding chambers and tanks, many of which appeared to be frozen, or suspending anomalies or body parts in some kind of formaldehyde solution. Unlike the other places they had broken into before, there was no resistance there to greet them. 

Rather, this base appeared to be some deranged ward used for carrying out human experiments. The team found records upon records of photographs showcasing monstrosities like something out of Unit 731, or the mind of Josef Mengele. Classifications ranging from clinical trials to Frankenstein stem cell creations. Joe’s stomach churned as he closed a manila folder he had been rifling through, and shoved the filing cabinet closed. There were many rooms resembling morgues, that were being temperature controlled at below freezing to preserve whatever subjects lay inside the closed chambers. But out of respect for the deceased, none of them dared to open one. The crew searched the entire building top to bottom, looking for any signs of life, but the place was a ghost town. Joe was sure to take photos for documentation, and then they left, feeling defeated after failing to save anyone. 

There was no time to waste, and the pilots were rallying to their next set of coordinates as quickly as they could get back to their planes. Currently, only about 2 squadrons were still running with the rescue mission - a total of 20 eurofighters. The rest had reconvened with the ground forces in the NE to offer extra aerial support. The British government figured that the harder they pressed the attacks on the frontlines, the closer they would come to an anticipated surrender. 

As Joe and Ben were leading the unit the short distance over to Arizona, all hell broke loose. They had reached the perfect cruising altitude when suddenly the lead pilot noticed his radar signal was being targeted. Lieutenant Lee, who was at that time holding up the back of the formation, was the first to read the incoming warning on his display.

“Mayday! Mayday! Surface to air missiles engaging. I count four, everyone break formation! I repeat - we have been engaged! Break formation,” Lee commanded over the intercom. 

Immediately, a loud explosion sounded off from the far left, and in the peripheral vision they saw one of their planes going down in a fiery blaze. And in the most collected sense of the word, they all panicked. They broke hard lefts and rights, some began to overbank into a sharp descent. They all zigzagged off in opposite directions. Once they were spread out, it would be easier to tell whose heat signature the missile was tracking at any given point. A missile was gaining on Ben and Joe’s craft and he deployed the decoy flares at the last second and broke hard right. However, the infrared output of the flares wasn’t enough, and as they leveled out, the missile made contact with their left side, clipping the nose of the plane and exploding, shrapnel tearing through the craft as it went. 

“Eject! Eject,” Ben shouted as he lost control of the plane. He tugged the release pulley, and Joe did the same. Both seats successfully launched, their chutes soon following. The two watched helplessly as another one of their crew’s planes was taken out mercilessly. The last remaining missile colliding with the burning jet as it tanked, its passengers unable to escape. Joe slowly drifted down into a sandy, open area, praying he wouldn’t land on a cactus. He kept his eye on his partner, who had glided about a hundred yards east of him. As soon as he hit the ground, the redhead swiftly stood up and unbuckled himself from all of the attached gear weighing him down. His body felt battered and jarred from the whiplash of both the impact and ejection. He eyed Ben’s chute on some brush in the distance and startled hobbling through the sand to get to him. 

_ Why isn’t he getting up, _ Joe worried as he struggled to move faster, the sand fighting his every step. As he grew nearer, he could hear his friend’s pained grunts as Ben struggled to sit himself upright. 

“Ben,” he cried out, as he fell to his knees in front of his wounded captain. Ben's left leg was bleeding heavily through the torn fabric of his pants, all the way from side of his knee to the hip, he was full of shrapnel. The initial contact of the missile with the front end of the craft must have exposed the cockpit just enough for some of the splinters to pierce the pilot’s body. 

“We need medical assistance down here now! Captain Hardy is critically wounded! We need an airlift now,” he radioed to the team frantically. 

“Roger that, mate. Stabilize him and we’ll call in a craft from the aeromedical team. But it’ll take them a few hours to get here,” Lee sounded over the walkie talkie, “we’re gonna need your position on the grid. Sort it out and get back to us. We’re gonna work out a safe landing point for cover.” 

Joe hastily began to cut away the fabric to try and gauge the severity of the injury. Ben was losing a lot of blood. He grabbed the first aid kit from the seat pack which deploys with the pilots during ejection, and carefully injected his friend with a dose of morphine. It was upsetting for Joe to see his partner in such visible anguish. He found the medical ratcheting tourniquet and tied it around Ben’s upper-thigh, trying to cut circulation from the bleed as tightly as he could. He poured the sulfa powder all over the open gashes, and crossed his fingers that they would clot. 

“Ben,” he held the blonde’s head in his lap and stroked his hair comfortingly, “hold on”. 

The captain’s rapid breathing and agonized groans were slowly starting to die down. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm such a dick, huh?  
Misleading title, short chapter, and a cliffhanger all in one. 
> 
> Please stay tuned, my loves <3


	7. Chivalry is Dead

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Or is it?

Fortunately, Ben's wounds had clotted, and the bleeding was subsiding. The damaged soldier’s pulse appeared to be stable, at least for now, and Joe thanked his lucky stars. As gently as he could, he hoisted Ben up from behind, hooking his elbows under the pilot’s arms, and quickly dragged him over to a shaded area. Then, he delicately lowered the man back onto him, the captain’s head resting on his lap, and let him drift off. Joe remained there in that position, even when he felt the pins and needles telling him to move his sleeping legs. He didn’t want to disturb his partner’s peaceful, drug induced rest. At the end of the day, if he were suffering like that, he would wanna be knocked out until he woke up in a hospital, not stranded in some desert without any help around. All they could do was wait, anyways. The other members of their unit couldn’t come around to assist right now. They all knew too well that the skies weren’t friendly today, and they could potentially run the risk of leading the enemy to the position of their injured comrade. 

A few hours later, the air ambulance had finally arrived, accompanied by two fighter jets - just in case. It was a miracle they hadn't been shot from the clouds on their way in, too. They carefully loaded Ben onto a stretcher and into the aircraft, Joe right on their heels. Ben had awoken from his morphine coma, but was still incoherent. Hard to tell if it was the blood loss or the drowsiness at this point. Even the engineer was feeling it.  _ Today really kicked our asses,  _ he thought, and he yearned to just lay down beside Ben on the gurney and pass out. His body felt so heavy. The nurses attending to his friend all became a blur as he sat back in his seat, and fell asleep. 

The only thing that disturbed Joe’s nap was the jolt from the landing, and before he could even wipe the sleep from his eyes and get a hold on reality, he was chasing after the emergency team as they wheeled Ben from the plane into a proper medical bay. Everything was glaring white in the fluorescent lights, much too bright for the architect’s groggy eyes, even their harsh reflection off the polished floors. The doctor immediately took the captain into surgery to remove the shrapnel and stitch up the wounds. Joe was left to wait in the hall. Despite knowing that the man was in good hands now, he still feared the worst. In reality, they had only just met a little more than 3 weeks prior, but for Joe it felt like the nature of their time together had already formed a bond unlike anything he’s ever had before. Not something he was prepared to give up. 

_ What am I gonna do when all of this over, _ he wondered grimly. Surely, he wanted America to just surrender already.  _ But where will I go,  _ he questioned.  _ Maybe Britain would grant me asylum, and then I could still see Ben from time to time, _ he tried to convince himself. In all fairness, Ben would still have his place in the British military when all was said and done, if not a promotion. But Joe would have to start from scratch in every way imaginable. A new home, a new job. And with the US taking such a beating, their time together could end any second now.  _ I’m sure no matter what happens, we’d still keep in touch, right…Our friendship is more than just this, isn’t it?  _

He was snapped from his worried trance by a nurse, who sat beside him with a clipboard and gave him a status update.

“Your friend is mighty lucky he had your help out in the field. He lost a lot of blood, but without the proper tourniquet application he definitely would’ve bled out. He’s gonna be okay, but he’ll have to stay here for a few days so we can ensure the wound heals over properly and without infection.”

“As long as you don’t mind me staying,” Joe insisted.

The woman smiled politely, “not a problem. We’ll let you know as soon as the doctor gives clearance for visitors”.

“Thanks,” he nodded, and slumped back into the chair, still feeling completely wiped out. 

\--------------

He woke up in the chair with a stiff neck, as the nurse gently tapped his shoulder.  _ Ugh, how long was I out for? _

“You’re welcome to see your friend now if you want. Can I get you anything? Tea, coffee,” she offered sweetly.

He yawned and stretched, slowly rising to his feet, “coffee, please,” Joe smiled and he made straight for Ben’s room. 

When he pushed through the door, he saw the blonde sitting up, looking downcast at his bandaged leg. He stared up at the redhead and quirked a small smile. 

“Fancy meeting you here,” the pilot joked, still cocky as ever. That somehow brought a sense of relief to Joe.

“I bet you’ve been worried sick,” Ben continued, winking at his partner.

“No kidding,” Joe agreed, raising his eyebrows as he walked around to the side of the bed and pulled up a chair to be closer to the other man, “you just  _ had _ to go and get us hit, huh,” he teased right back.

“Gotta keep you on your toes, boy scout. Ya know, test your first aid skills,” he laughed, reaching his hand out to lightly grab Joe’s, sincerely gazing into his eyes, “thank you”.

“What else was I supposed to do? I couldn’t exactly let you die. I still need that British citizenship,” Joe said sarcastically, although a small part of him meant it. 

Ben’s expression changed a bit after that remark, into something Joe couldn’t decipher. 

“I was thinking,” he began.

“You mean..._unconscious_?”

“No, no, no. Before all that,” Ben defended, shaking his head, “and uh, I know we joke about it a lot, but what are you actually going to do when this all ends ‘cause,” he trailed.

“Well, I was thinking, too,” Joe interjected, “don’t you think Britain would grant me asylum?”

“Yeah, I had the same idea,” Ben beamed, “and of course you know  _ I’m basically _ the queen, so they can’t refuse if I put in a good word for you,” he added arrogantly.

Joe smirked, “oh, yeah? Well, I’m so relieved  _ your royal highness _ is okay,” he rolled his eyes, and then tenderly lifted Ben’s hand up to his lips to plant a gentle kiss on the back of it. 

The blonde blushed lightly in response to the unexpected move, but didn’t pull his arm away. Rather, he reached out and thoughtfully stroked the side of Joe’s cheek. 

“Does this make you my knight,” Ben said in question, but it came out more like a statement, and he sounded a little lost in thought.

Joe laughed at the cheesy remark, but leaned into the touch, “nah! Chivalry is d-”

But Joe’s quip was cut short as Ben hastily leaned in and pressed his lips against the co pilot’s, earning a soft gasp in response. Just at that moment, the sound of the nurse entering the room interrupted their kiss and they hastily separated before she could notice.

“Your coffee, sir,” she said cheerfully as she handed him the styrofoam cup. Joe took it, his cheeks visibly heated.

“Uh, th-thanks,” he mumbled as she made for the door.

“You two boys just let me know if you need anything,” she chirped as she exited the room. 

Ben shot a devilish smirk at Joe, showing off how proud he was to make the other get so choked up. 

The redhead glared right back over the rim of the cup as he took a long sip of coffee.

“Guess they’ve really got you drugged up big time, buddy. Making moves like that,” he said, dismissing Ben’s actions completely. 

Ben laughed, “I see how it is. We’ll just have to wait till I’m outta here. Then you’ll wish you hadn’t said that.”

\---------------------------------

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm sorry my chapters are short. 
> 
> Got that writer's block.
> 
> As always, thanks for reading, my lovelies <3


	8. Taken

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Refer to title.

The morning sun was barely begging to illuminate the room through the blinds on Ben's hospital room window. The light woke Joe up, feeling stiff and cramped from spending the night in a chair. He stood up quietly, trying not to disturb the sleeping pilot. He needed to go outside and get some fresh air. The redhead walked out into the crisp air and took a deep breath as he let the warmth of the atmosphere wash over his pale skin. Everything in the clinic felt so artificial and blanched in comparison to the world outside. The slim man found a comfortable spot on a bench near the ER entrance, and sat back, sighing. 

It was the very early hours of dawn and the sun was still ascending into the sky. He barely gave notice when a group of medical staff, dressed in their scrubs, walked outside chatting casually, heading directly towards him. Joe mustered a small glance their way before leaning his head back and closing his eyes. He ignored the sound of their footsteps growing closer and closer, until he could ignore it no more. 

As his eyes snapped open, he suddenly felt a few pairs of strong hands seize him up quickly, dragging him to his feet and pulling him off towards a suspicious black vehicle with heavily tinted windows - it was already waiting there in the ICU drop off loop. He struggled and kicked against them, but four versus one didn't make for a fair match. A scream fought to escape his lips but it was promptly muffled by a rag, and that was the last thing he remembered.

A few hours later, Ben woke up in his stuffy hospital room, disappointed to find himself alone. He pressed the call button for the nurse.

“Excuse me, but could I get something to eat now,” he asked as his stomach grumbled loudly.

“Of course, sir. Anything for your guest,” she asked, peeking around the room curiously.

“I haven’t seen him since I’ve been awake,” the pilot shrugged his shoulders, looking lost.

“Hmm. That’s a bit odd, usually transportation arrangements are made if a soldier has to leave the premises. This hospital is a bit isolated from all the bases in the area. And he had already asked permission to stay as long as you were kept here,” she furrowed her brows pensively. 

“Maybe he just wandered off for awhile,” Ben concluded, “I’m sure he’ll be back”.

The woman nodded at him reassuringly before turning on her heel to go grab his meal. The captain pushed himself into an upright position, his injured leg still feeling like dead weight, and he propped up a pillow behind him.  _ If he did leave, I wonder when I’ll be in the condition to reunite with him and the rest of my unit,  _ he thought, feeling utterly helpless and stranded in this foreign place. Something about this section of the infirmary was eerily quiet, especially at night. It would be easy to feel like the staff had entirely forgotten about you if it weren't for the call button. 

“Here you are, sweetheart,” the middle aged attendant said in her comforting voice as she flipped up the foldable tray table at the side of his bed and set down his spread of breakfast. The blonde smiled up at her in thanks. Although, he couldn’t help but remark how reminiscent it was of a school lunch, and it was hard to decide if that was a good or bad comparison. He grabbed his cup of tea and sat back against the headboard, fearing how much longer he might be condemned to hospital food and confined to this cot.

\--------------------------------

Joe was startled awake by a freezing splash of water to his face, he was painfully sprawled out on a concrete floor in a dank cell. 

“Rise and shine, sleeping beauty,” a cruel voice echoed above him.

_ Where am I? Is this a prison, _ he questioned, scanning dim area with his tired eyes. He felt like he’d been hit by a bus. His vision fixed on a blurred figure that stood before him, just outside the bars. An indiscriminate man dressed in a black suit wearing dark sunglasses unlocked the cage and slid the door open just enough to scoop up a very limp and confused Joe by the collar. He dragged the smaller man to a tiny table and nearly threw him down into the chair. 

“Do you know who I am, Joe? Who I work for,” he dragged out, bending down to invade the redhead’s personal space. 

He was silent for a long time before he let out a long sigh and snickered, “I dunno. The Men In Black?”

“I admire your sense of humor even in such circumstances, Mr. Mazzello, but I regret to inform you that this is no laughing matter,” he said, gripping Joe’s chin intimidatingly, “I am part of the CIA. You know, a section of the government  _ you _ used to work for, Joe,” he continued, voice threatening and unwavering.

“What does the US government want with me,” he asked bluntly.

“We think you know that  _ we know _ what you’ve been up to for the past month or so,” the interrogator pushed.

“Oh?” he feigned surprise.

“Yes indeed, _traitor_. You somehow thought we wouldn’t know exactly who was spilling all of the details on our undisclosed base locations when you’re the only one with that knowledge who remained unaccounted for? Well, we know. And we have a proposition for you,” he added dangerously. 

“Ah. Right, the bases,” Joe nodded, “so, does this offer involve me getting out of here alive by any chance?”

“Not likely, but I’m obligated to lie to you so that you at least have a glimmer of hope. Keeps ‘em alive longer, ya know,” he stated gravely.

“Gotta say, your methods are super convincing,” Joe mused sarcastically, crossing his arms across his chest defiantly. 

“Our offer stands as this - you give us intel on the Brits and we’ll call it even for your little play dates with the enemy. My choice of words might not sway you, but I think you’ll find your time down here in the dungeon to be quite persuasive,” he quipped, roughly grabbing Joe by the arm and rag-dolling him carelessly back into the cell, “I’ll be back when you’re ready to talk.”

Joe winced and grunted as his back hit the concrete with a distinct crack. He stood up to dust himself off before crouching down in a corner, and curling up with his chin resting on his knees.  _ Will they even notice that I’m gone? Will anybody come to save me, _ he brooded.  _ I’m not one of their own to save, so why would Britain be on their way to rescue me,  _ he lamented as he pulled his knees in tighter to his chest.  _ At least my team would be missing me, right? At least Ben.... _

\---------------------------------

It was well into the afternoon, and Ben still hadn’t seen any sign of Joe. He began to worry. The recovering man hobbled out into the hallway on his crutches and looked up and down the long corridor. Pacing through the front lobby, he stopped the familiar nurse as she passed. 

“Excuse me, miss? Have you seen my partner around yet, I’m a little bit concerned,” he asked, hoping she had a good answer for him.

“No, sir,” she shook her head, “I’m afraid I haven’t. I can get you a radio to contact your command if you want to ask about his whereabouts. Perhaps he made it back to a main base,” she suggested, trying to encourage him. 

“Yes, please,” he nodded and limped back to his room, where he impatiently awaited the arrival of the radio. The captain tapped his foot anxiously and bit his lip.  _ Goddammit, where are you Joe? Was it the kiss? Did I scare him off, _ he questioned, feeling full of doubt. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for slower updates and shorter chapters. 
> 
> Your girl is going through a mental breakdown lol
> 
> Thank you for the kudos, my children <3


	9. Loose Lips Sink Ships

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Joe's kidnapping circumstances, and Ben's recovery.

In the dark chamber that was completely void of windows, the engineer had no sense of time. It was always chilled and murky. It felt like he had been hunched up in that corner for a whole day, but it was probably just the boredom and discomfort dragging out the hours. He shifted uncomfortably to try and move his weight onto his knees. The bones in his bottom felt like they would burst through the skin from sitting on the unforgiving concrete for so long. The redhead’s mouth was so dry, and he felt a terrible thirst growing, but in reality he had more pressing matters to occupy his mind. 

_ Maybe I could wager with them? I have lots of information on the British forces, but they didn’t really specify what they were looking for. I could say things that they wouldn’t already know, but limit it to knowledge that is impertinent to their strategy. But then...where would my allegiance lie? I can’t just sell out at the expense of both sides here. What kind of man would I be then,  _ he thought sorrowfully.  _ I guess I’d rather die without spilling any of the RAF’s secrets. They have done so much to accommodate me since this war broke out,  _ the co pilot resolved. _More importantly, I wouldn't want to risk putting him in any danger...Ben. _He longed to be back in the hospital with his friend, supporting him while he recovered. 

“Looks like you’ve got a lot on your mind, kid. Ready to talk about it,” the same voice from before sounded and the main door clicked and locked. 

“You’re right on time, actually. I just made up my mind that I won’t be telling you a goddamn thing,” Joe spat. 

“I think you should reconsider, Joe. You seem like a nice boy. I’d really hate to have to  _ coax _ it out of you,” the interrogator said coolly as he came into Joe’s view, approaching the bars and peering in at the prisoner like he was a small, cornered animal. 

The architect didn’t respond, but rather braced himself and shot a nasty glare in the direction of the intruder as he swung the barred door open like before and stepped towards him. 

“Let’s see if we can’t offer you a little  _ healthy encouragement, _ ” the agent threatened as he lifted Joe off the ground and forcefully slammed him up against the solid wall, the back of his head painfully colliding with the cement.

Joe grimaced and weakly fought to pry the larger man’s hand from around his throat, both hands clawing at the other’s forearm. It was daunting, the tinted glasses making the man’s expression completely unreadable as he effortlessly held this soldier at his mercy. 

“Undress, Mazzello,” he ordered, releasing his grip to pull a small pistol from his waistband and aim it up menacingly. 

Joe gave pause, still recovering from the jostle he just took.

“Undress or be undressed, kid. You’re lucky I’m giving you the option here,” he gritted, pressing the gun lightly against Joe’s temple. 

Joe undressed as directed. And the man in black didn’t lower the firearm until every last piece of clothing was removed, even his socks and underwear. The auburn haired boy felt disgusted and humiliated all the way down in the pit of his stomach. 

“Where ya from, Joe,” the man in the suit asked casually as he dragged the boy to a corner of the cell and forced him to his knees, which scraped open on the rough floor. 

“New York,” he mumbled, not sure where any of this was heading, but not daring to guess.

“Ah. I’ve been. They’ve got some pretty cold winters, huh,” he added, as he forced Joe’s wrist into a shackle and locked it tight before cuffing him into the second one. The chains that held him to the wall were so short that he couldn’t even lower his arms. 

Joe didn’t answer, rather just stared back, trying his hardest not to look vulnerable in this pathetic situation. 

“You oughta be a real champ with the cold, then. But I guess that remains to be seen. I’ll be back in a few hours,” the man stated as he shut the cell door. 

Joe could hear the beeping sound of some type of machinery being adjusted before the man exited the tiny dungeon. Suddenly the drone of a ventilation system sounded off, and the exposed man began to feel an icy draft blowing around the room.  _ Fuck, _ he cursed. His hands hung limply in the restraints, and he pulled his bloodied knees back up to his chest, his best attempt at covering himself. 

\--------------------------------

Ever since Ben radioed off to his unit, the hunt for Joe had begun. Nobody from their flight crew had been in contact with him, and none of the personnel at the nearby bases and headquarters could account for him. Joe was missing in action. When his absence was confirmed from all captured bases in the area, they immediately looked to the US government. Perhaps they’d be wanting their architectural mastermind back. The first step was to observe surveillance footage from the CCTV at the military medical bay. 

Of course, it didn’t take much effort to find the tapes of Joe exiting the building and being snatched up and thrown into the vehicle. Seeing it for himself made Ben feel sick to his stomach. However, that footage wasn’t of much consequence because the kidnappers were all disguised and the license plate on the car wasn’t legible on the video due to an opaque, tinted cover concealing the numbers. It was obviously a secret operation of the US military, but how would they know where to find him? They had no way of tracking the vehicle. There was nothing they could do except begin reconnaissance and gather data on which uncaptured US bases in the area were housing CIA operations, and then narrow it down from there. Any staff at the medical post who could provide information about the disguised agents were asked to come forward. Although they didn’t expect any major leads, especially not from eyewitnesses. As you would imagine, the CIA was usually pretty thorough when it came to being covert. 

On the contrary, their big break on their missing comrade's whereabouts  _ did _ come from hospital staff. A few days after their initial announcement, a man came forward. Many of the people working for the hospital were civilian staff, and therefore neutral and indifferent to the war. So, even when the British forces took up occupation of the area and began digging in at military bases in the region, for the medical staff it was just another day at work, the only difference was the patients. And fortunately, one of the doctors on call that day noticed that one of the disguised men in scrubs had a limp, a gimpy leg just like one of his old regular patients. And he just so happened to know that this patient belonged to Fort Mcnair base in Washington, DC.

Currently, the rest of Ben’s rescue company was landed at Dover air force base in Delaware, which the royal forces had recently gained control of. From there it was less than an hour flight to Mcnair. Meanwhile, Ben was still at their biggest established medical facility, which was the hospital near the very first base they captured - Fort Dix in New Jersey. That’s why his air ambulance rescue had been such a big ordeal. The ground forces hadn’t pushed out nearly as far west as they had been when enemies engaged - because there was no plan to. They would stay in the east and take down every base on their way to the White House. When the time comes for the British army to park their tanks on the President’s front lawn, they wouldn’t be ignored - or at least, that was the idea. But now that they knew Joe was there, in Ben’s mind, that was all the reason they needed to march into Washington and take it by storm. 

The pilot’s leg was mostly better by this point, even though the scars would always be there to remind him. He could walk now, with the help of physical therapy. He limped a little and struggled with balance at times, but for the most part he was nearly back to normal. Fortunately, most of the shards hadn’t pierced deep enough to cause more than just surface wounds. The one that had punctured his artery had done the most damage for certain. The injury had definitely appeared much worse than it actually was for its size. 

“The miracle of modern medicine,” he said proudly as he was finally freed from the last bandages, “I’m glad to be rid of those things, finally,” he mused to the nurse, “always felt like an itch you can’t scratch”.

“You have to be careful to keep it very clean, and use the antibiotic ointment every day, two times a day,” she lectured, reminding him of a nagging mother. 

  
Ben was happy to be discharged from the infirmary, and was only fueled by his anxiety to get this mission underway and bust Joe out of there.  _ If I could, I would fly there right now all by myself and get him, but that would be suicide,  _ he thought, while he was being transported in a military vehicle to reconnect with his team at Dover.  _ I just hope we aren’t too late... _

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm sorry, y'all honestly. We've gone so many chapters between any action.   
Like this burn is TOO slow.   
I just wanna get them to a point where ALL THE BURN CAN BURN LIKE A BIG ASS BONFIRE!!!  
But it takes time, my dears. 
> 
> Also on a random note, idk why but I keep picturing the social worker from Lilo and Stitch every time I'm writing the interrogation scenes lol


	10. Duality

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The forces can finally launch a siege on Mcnair, but will they find Joe?

This had gone on for days now. The same agent would subject him to the extreme cold for just long enough until he was on the brink of death, and then allow him to thaw out for a day or two while they tried to pry information from him about the British forces. The intelligence agency was focused particularly on the whereabouts of the rescue team he had been flying with, because they wanted to prevent any further liberation of the labor camps. Additionally, they wanted to know where he was storing all of the downloaded files from the US databases. The government was equally interested in any experimental weapons technology being implemented in the EU. But he refused to give up anything useful. 

To say the engineer felt like he’d been through the ringer was an understatement. To keep him alive just for the sake of continuing the interrogations, he was regularly subjected to force-feeding. In other words, he would be restrained, and have a tube shoved down his throat, into which they’d pour some kind of viscous shake. The aftertaste always made Joe gag, or perhaps that’s just what happens when someone yanks a tube out of your pipes.

Joe sat shackled to the wall and helpless as the entire room containing his cell slowly turned into a freezer. He curled up into as much of a fetal position as he could to preserve the warmth at his core. He squeezed his eyes shut and tried to think about anything else besides the chill creeping into his bones. Memories of being nearly frozen with Ben in the tent back when they had first arrived in Colorado flooded his mind.  _ God, what I wouldn’t give to have a cuddling partner right now, _ he laughed, remembering how awkward that moment had been for him at first. 

Typically, the strategy behind avoiding a hypothermia induced death is to keep moving to stay warm. However, the shackles were purposely used to limit the prisoner’s range of motion, increasing the probability of developing a dangerously low body temperature. Whenever Joe felt like he could barely move his extremities, the drive to live would kick in. Even when it seemed like his joints had been frozen stiff, he made the effort to try and move as much as he could despite being cuffed to the wall. His legs were still free, after all. So, he would start by bending his knees and shaking his legs out with as much vigor as he could to try and generate some heat in his muscles. He didn’t stop even when he was past the point of exhaustion, because he couldn’t stop. He wasn’t ready to give up and keel over. Thoughts of Ben, and the kiss, and the battles, and the victims - there was so much spurring him on. 

\--------------------------------------

The day had finally arrived for the assault on Washington. The main forces had pushed up the front lines close enough, and Lieutenant Gwilym’s team was ready to rock and roll. They would be leading the charge by dropping airstrikes on Mcnair. Once there was enough cover on the ground, Ben would be ready to move in with the army and try to find his friend. The skies would have to wait another day to have their captain back. 

It was surprising to everyone that the United States had still refused to surrender up to this point, especially to the dismay of their own soldiers who felt like they may as well start digging their graves now. But British hopes remained that an invasion in the District of Columbia would be the last straw for the American government, and that all of the killing could come to an end. 

“Hey, Hardy,” Lee’s voice came over the transceiver, the flight team prepared for take off on deck. 

“Yes, sir,” the blonde questioned back.

“Let’s go get your husband back in one piece, okay?”

“I beg your pardon, sir,” he inquired, almost laughing, but trying to play dumb.

“Am I wrong? I thought you were trying to hook him up with one of those gay marriage green cards,” Gwilym joked over the intercom.

Even though the captain knew his superior couldn’t see him, he bit his lip and huffed out a sigh in response, cringing at the memory of the time their whole unit overheard that conversation with Joe. After a few moments of silence between them, the Lieutenant figured he wasn’t gonna get an answer.

“If you don’t invite me to the wedding, I’ll be offended,” Lee added one last smug remark. 

“I’ll consider that your RSVP. Now just get your asses in there,” Ben sassed.

“Yeah, yeah. Roger that.”

It was go time. The various squads broke off accordingly, aiming for a stealth approach as they made to position themselves in the airspace above Fort Mcnair. No doubt, this mission would be perhaps the most dangerous of all - for everyone involved. This entire region would certainly be the most heavily armed and guarded. Being the central operating point for the government officials, all active US military forces in this region would be more than prepared for any breach . 

Once the unit was in position, the teams broke off and strategically initiated the air strikes, firing missiles on specified buildings and landmarks. Utter chaos and destruction befell Mcnair, stationed men scurrying like panicked ants to their positions, trying desperately to counter the barrage with more anti-aircraft measures. The Royal Air Force rushed to blow up any visible weapons on sight. Tanks, military vehicles, etc. all turned to scrap. The troops on the ground rolled in, tanks and guns at the ready, blasting mercilessly through their barriers like a game of Red Rover. Ben was riding along inside one of the armored vehicles, waiting until the opportune moment to gain entry to the fort. 

In the sky above, the planes wove in and out, scattering like dragonflies. It would’ve been a true spectacle if the circumstances had been different. The pilots implemented all kinds of impressive maneuvers. And  _ that sound _ , oh that sound that rips through your body as the jets overhead break the sound barrier. They all felt alive. Even if it was the last time some of them would ever feel that way again. 

Ben, accompanied by a few other groups of men, exited the armored vehicles, using them as shields while they crept in ever so closer, the trucks nearly idling. Hardy’s squad would be the first to enter the base, followed up by a few other teams who would provide covering fire. Crouching, they quickly moved in on the West entrance, firearms locked and loaded. They took a few shots on their left flank, but neutralized the enemy swiftly. Now was the real challenge, they would have to clear this main building hall by hall, searching every room until they hopefully found Joe. The teams split off into groups of 4, each heading in opposite areas. Ben knew Joe was likely being held at basement level, or some hidden sector, so he and his comrades descended the first stairwell, cautious as they went. They downed any American soldier they came upon. 

\-----------------------------------

They had reached the lowest level of the building, which was mostly empty. It made their job easier, but Ben grew more and more discouraged with each cleared room and still no sign of his friend. It wasn’t until with a discerning eye, they discovered a hidden door that was nearly overlooked in the farthest corner of the basement. Taking the lead, the captain squeezed his eyes shut and exhaled, saying a silent prayer before pushing the door in. 

The room was musty and dimly lit. It held a few barred cells and a small table with a bare bulb light hanging down above it. The space itself was cramped. Ben’s eyes tried to adjust to the lower light. An eerie silence fell upon the dungeon, and it made him doubt that anyone could be here. But then a slumped shadow at the very back of one of the cages caught his eye. Fearfully, he stepped closer, pulling out his flashlight. The beam reflected on familiar auburn locks that hung, disheveled and dirty in the face of a nude and restrained man, very thin and pale. He was equally unresponsive, and his upper body hanged limply from the shackles on the wall. 

Everyone present stood silent, mouths slightly ajar. Ben’s face contorted in horror, and he frantically rushed over to the enclosure. 

“Fuck,” he hissed, “it’s locked. We need the bloody key! Does anyone have bolt cutters on them?” 

A fellow soldier feverishly removed his pack and fumbled through it until he pulled out a heavy duty looking pair of cutters, tossing them to Ben. The captain, with all the adrenaline rushing through his veins, aggressively snapped through the padlock like it was a branch. He threw open the gate and ran to his friend, making quick work of the chains binding his wrists to the wall. Joe’s body dropped lifelessly without anything holding him up, and Ben took him into his arms. The rest of the soldiers stayed back in silence. The pilot took off his jacket and draped it over his partner’s fragile body. 

“Joe,” he called softly, his voice nearly cracking as tears stung his eyes.

He tenderly pressed his fingers to the side of his neck, hoping for a pulse. After a moment of deafening silence, the blonde sighed loudly in relief.

“He’s alive, boys. We’ve got him. Now let’s get the hell outta here,” he declared as he gently cradled the redhead in both arms, careful to keep him covered and carried him off. He was unable to hold back a few tears of joy from trailing down his cheeks as he looked at Joe’s peaceful unconscious face, and craned his neck to plant a small kiss on his forehead. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I've been doing research for this fic as I've gone along.   
I think the biggest thing recently was like...modern torture, ya know? What do they do?
> 
> So, my one homie was like, "oh just read the CIA torture report. it's got like all the torture they've done since 9/11"
> 
> And I was like, "bish say wut"
> 
> But yeah, it's a thing and yeah I'll never look at Ensure nutritional shakes the same way again. 
> 
> Also. Doesn't "gay marriage green card" have a nice ring to it? Saw that while I was doing research, too. Although, UK calls it something else, the phrase was too good to pass up.


	11. Bon Voyage

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Joe is safe, the war is over.

Now it would be Joe's turn to make a recovery. Back at the hospital, he needed to be treated for hypothermia related pneumonia and malnutrition. Which, considering what he'd been through, was a small price to pay. It took awhile for him to regain consciousness, even long after administration of fluids and medication, but Ben never left his side. 

As expected, it had been less than a day into his hospital stay when the news of the surrender went public. America made the smart decision to cut their losses. At the pace British forces were tackling their bases in the East, it was really the only choice they could make. All of the camps were liberated, and the US military officials were forced to disclose every secret base location. 

To finalize the peace, a treaty was signed forcing America to withdraw their military presence from all countries in the European Union. And while they weren’t forced to demilitarize completely, they were forced to downsize. By the new law, they were technically limited to “defense forces” only. Not only would this protect other nations, but slashing the military budget ensured more money for the people, and as you might guess, reparations to be paid to the victims. Certain people in charge would be tried for war crimes. Ultimately, it seemed that justice would be served. 

It was another restless night for Ben, chair pulled up to the edge of his partner’s hospital bed, the upper half of his body slumped over onto the edge of the mattress, arms folded and head resting atop them. Not that he could sleep this way, even if he wanted to. He lay there silently, staring up at Joe’s sleeping face, still waiting for him to wake up. His hand quietly slid over the sheets, to gently hold the other man’s. But unlike all the other times before, there was finally a response. Joe’s fingers twitched ever so slightly against the contact and he curled into himself, groaning softly. 

“Joe,” Ben asked, barely a whisper.

He grunted and rolled around under the white linens like a kid who just wanted an extra five minutes of sleep before school. Ben smiled despite himself, squeezing a bit tighter on Joe’s hand so he couldn’t pull it away. 

“Don’t you think you’ve kept me waiting long enough,” he sighed in a low voice.

Joe winced as he tried to open his eyes for the first time in a long time, the intense lights blinding him. He didn’t really register where he was, or why he was there.  _ Maybe this is the bright light you seen when you die. Maybe this is rebirth, _ these questions flashed through his mind but were promptly interrupted when he noticed the warm sensation of someone holding his hand - it felt like an anchor to reality. He forced his eyes open, and stared down first at the familiar appendage grasping his own, and then slowly, blinking, settled his gaze on the blonde. 

“Did we both die,” he joked, voice raspy from lack of use.

Ben gently stroked his thumb over the back of Joe’s hand. 

“No, sleepy head. We made it. For better or for worse. And guess what else you slept through,” he smiled, “the war’s over”.

“Whoa,” he mused, wiping the sleep from his eyes, “how long was I out for?”

“Only about a day or two,” Ben laughed, “looks like you really caught up on your beauty sleep because I don’t remember you being  _ this  _ handsome,” he added coyly.

“Wooo. You sure move quick,” Joe jested, “at least let me wake up before you start hitting on me.”

“Man, I’m starving,” he remarked as he sat up in the bed, still looking gaunt from his days as a prisoner.

“ _ Literally, _ ” the blonde rolled his eyes.

“I’d kill for some coffee right now.”

“I’m sure coffee’s fine, but we’re probably gonna have to follow the doctor’s orders on food for a little while,” he pointed out, “I’ll go see what we can scavenge”.

\----------------------------------

It was only a matter of days before Joe was bouncing back from the lung infection. It was responding well to the antibiotics and he could eat most foods normally again. So, they sent him on his way to continue routine care from home.  _ Home? Right, where would that be now,  _ he wondered, standing back on the deck of the aircraft carrier they had originally sailed in on. All of the British forces were pulling out of America now that business was taken care of, as were American soldiers relinquishing all of their posts overseas. 

For now, he was gonna stick to the original plan - head back to Britain, and apply for asylum, find a civilian job somewhere. But in the meantime, Joe wanted to see the rest of Europe. He never spent much time outside of the confines of his base at Croughton. So, before he settled down and picked up a new career, he figured he deserved a little vacation. Maybe if Ben had any leave left over, he could convince the captain to join him. 

It felt nice to be here again, topside with the sun on his face and the wind in his hair. The engineer was shocked out of that sense of nostalgia when he suddenly felt two strong arms snake around his waist, and hug him tightly from behind. Ben leaned his face in over Joe’s right shoulder, and placed a light kiss on his cheek, body still pressed up against his backside. Of course the pilot wouldn’t be shy about doing something like that, even with so many other soldiers walking around. By now they had already received a few puzzled glances, and it made the redhead blush and bail out of the embrace, spinning around to face his friend. He balked and raised an eyebrow quizzically, but Ben just laughed at his reaction.

“Don’t tell me you forgot already,” the green-eyed man said charmingly, “back when I was in the hospital.”

Joe paused in thought, squinting his eyes, his lips pursing into a straight line, “Oh. When you were all doped out and you kissed me, you mean,” he answered. 

“ _ And  _ I said that you’d regret implying that was the only reason I kissed you. Remember,” Ben asked flirtatiously.

“Pffft,” Joe huffed and turned around so the captain wouldn’t see his face turning an even darker shade of rouge, “don’t make things too weird. We still have to share that shoe box of a room for another 6 days,” he joked, trying to lighten the tension he was suddenly feeling. 

“Oh, I’m looking forward to it,” the blonde winked and nudged him before heading off to who knows where.

\----------------

The return voyage was passing uneventfully. Most of the troops were celebrating while they still could before they would be forced to return to usual business back on the home front. Joe felt relieved in a way, to be free of his military duty. However, the uncertainty of ‘what now’ hung over him, and he sat in their small cabin on his laptop at the tiny desk, applying for various engineering openings all over Britain - well, as long as the job wouldn't take him too far from Ben, that is. He had a few other tabs pulled up in the background, mulling over vacation ideas. 

A bit later that evening, Ben came back to the room, a cup of tea in hand.

“Four days down, two more to go,” he announced, setting the ceramic cup down on the nearly non existent bedside table, “I bet you’re gonna miss sharing a room with me.”

“Yeah, I probably will,” Joe answered matter of factly, “so much, in fact, that I have a proposal for you.”

“That’s a bit rude trying to beat me to it, ya know. I thought  _ I  _ was the one doing the proposing,” he smirked.

“ _ Not like that _ ,” the redhead rolled his eyes, “I wanna go on a vacation around Europe. And I was thinking maybe....”

“Oh, so like, a honeymoon? I think we’re skipping a step here.”

“I mean, I was planning just a _normal trip,_ but sure might as well get that out of the way while we’re there,” Joe quipped sarcastically.

“_Hmmmm_,” Ben pretended like he had to think about the offer, “ok, I’ll go. But one condition,” he added.

“That is?”

“We have to go to Paris,” he sighed dramatically, “the city of love.”

“Really? I didn’t take you for the cliche romantic type, but whatever, we can pen it in,” he said, laughing at Ben’s ridiculous tone, “I was kinda thinking Amsterdam myself.”

“Oo la la~” the pilot cooed, “wanna do some window shopping, huh?”

“Rijksmuseum, actually,” Joe said, as he distractedly skimmed over the web pages. 

“Good. Cause I’ll be the only one you take home from the red light district,” Ben winked as he climbed into bed with his tea and a book. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Idk Ben went from 0 to 100 real quick.
> 
> Laying it on thicccccc. Ayyyyy get it! 
> 
> Anyways, sorry. It's just, I gotta build up to that bonfire.
> 
> Also, in reference to the last part - in case you don't know, Amsterdam is famous for its red light district where prostitutes stand in windows to be "bought" by passersby.


	12. When in Rome

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Vacation.  
First stop, Italy.  
Cuteness ensues.

For the week following their return to the UK, everyone involved with the rescue missions was deluged with reports and paperwork, Joe included. He submitted the drive with all of the stored US database files and the photos of what they witnessed at the Dulce base. He figured the more cooperative he proved to be, even post-service, the greater his chances of getting asylum. Unfortunately, since he was only a civilian by law now, he wasn’t able to stay at Croughton base anymore. Instead he found himself cooped up in a hotel room in Birmingham, a nearby major city. 

There hadn’t really been any contact between him and Ben since they got back, but they were both busy, so it was to be expected. All Joe knew was that the pilot had gotten permission for their vacation, and that’s all he needed. The heavy load of documentation didn’t feel so bad when you had something to look forward to.

\---------------------------------------------

“So, where are we flying in to first,” Ben asked as they sat in the coach on their way to Luton airport. 

Joe smiled up at his friend and unzipped his backpack, pulling out a boarding pass and handing it over.

The blonde examined the destination, “ah. You know I actually haven’t been to Venice before.”

“Even better. It makes for more of an adventure if we’re both equally lost,” Joe said casually as he flipped through the pages of a  _ Fodor’s _ travel guide.

“I admire your spontaneity, but as my former co pilot, I’m a little concerned to hear you doubt your navigational skills,” he laughed. 

Joe smirked, “well, my military life is in the past now. So, I don’t really need to make any excuses.”

\--------------------------------------

It was just past midday when they arrived at their hotel, with its ornate Gothic architecture. For Joe, being an architectural engineer himself, the scenery was breathtaking. In fact, he partially based his destination choices on design. They ascended the polished wooden staircase to their room, which was decorated just as intricately. 

“Wow. This is  _ posh _ , mate,” Ben exclaimed as he looked around, setting down his suitcase, “U.S. must've given you a nice severance,” he joked.

“Only the finest for you,” Joe laughed sarcastically. 

“Although you do seem to have overlooked something,” he said gesturing to the center of the room, “only one bed,” he pointed out and flopped across the king size mattress. 

“Oh no, Ben. Looks like you’ll have to wear clothes to sleep, the end is nigh,” he replied cynically, sprawling out beside him on the duvet. 

The blonde rolled onto his side, dangerously close to the other man, hot breath ghosting over Joe’s ear.

“A little closeness won’t deter me. I’m still gonna sleep naked,” he whispered in almost a challenging tone, lips gently brushing against the redhead’s neck.

Joe never knew quite what to make of Ben’s unsolicited advances. Sure, they had an interesting relationship, but conversation about the subject had never come up. For all he knew, Ben was just one of those openly affectionate bromance type of guys. That wasn’t uncommon, especially in the military. But despite those doubts, Joe couldn’t stop his heart from beating out of his chest, couldn’t fight the electric jolt that made him want to run away whenever Ben got this close. His thoughts and emotions always got so scrambled that he wanted to react mutually out of curiosity, but also wanted to crawl under a rock and die from embarrassment. 

_ But how will I know if I never - _ he had barely begun turning his head to face the man in question when a pair of full lips collided with his own. It was passionate, so much that it bordered on violent. A wave of a foreign, erotic feeling washed over Joe entirely and he kissed back with equal fervor. Their legs intertwined and Ben gripped Joe’s hips tightly, pressing them against his own and grinding roughly, the friction eliciting a moan from the architect. The alluring sound of Joe’s voice only pushed Ben to do more, lips trailing down his neck leaving bites and kisses in their wake. Joe arched his back in response, melting into Ben’s touch, his own fingers tangled up in the captain’s hair. 

The green-eyed man paused after a moment, and pulled back, hovering over Joe, his lips cherry red and ever so slightly swollen from the impact. Joe stared back, breathless, and appeared simultaneously aroused and shaken. Ben smiled down on him in a strange, nurturing kind of way before he kissed him softly on the forehead and rolled off. Joe sat up, and fought to collect himself. His head was spinning and his whole body felt like it was throbbing with desire. 

“Sorry,” Ben sighed, “I shouldn’t just assume that you-”

“Don’t,” he interrupted, “seriously, it’s okay,” he blushed and faltered but refused to break eye contact, “if I’m going to be ravished by any man, I would want it to be you.” 

He reassuringly took Ben’s hand, and stood up in front of him, “now let’s go see some sights, shall we?”

\--------------------------------------

They hit all the must-sees from the Rialto bridge to the famous gondola rides through the picturesque canals. Of course, Joe had to find the perfect Venetian mask to buy as a souvenir, and they must’ve searched a million stores before he found the one he wanted. They fed the pigeons in la Piazza San Marco, and finished the night off with some authentic Italian pizza. 

“I couldn’t have asked for a better first day, honestly,” Joe sighed as he unlocked their hotel room.

“I can think of one more thing,” Ben said, “I’ll be right back, don’t lock me out.”

A few moments later Ben returned, two brilliantly orange colored drinks in hand.

“Come on, let’s sit on the balcony. The view’s beautiful,” he insisted as he carried the cocktails out, set them carefully onto the table, and took a seat. 

“What’s this,” Joe asked as he sat across from his friend, picking up the beverage and examining it.

“Aperol Spritz. It’s made with a popular Italian liqueur. It’s good, trust me,” he raised his glass and Joe followed suit, gently clinking their cups together.

“Cheers.”

\--------------------------

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Short chapter, but I'm working up to that bonfiyaaaaaa~
> 
> Just something I've been reflecting on - by internet fandom standards, I'm old.
> 
> Can you believe I was almost a teacher?  
Good thing I dodged that bullet.


	13. Maß

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The boys go to Germany, and things go great...until they don't.

A couple of days had passed and their time in Italy had come to a close. After knocking back one final espresso for the road, they hopped on a train and headed to their next stop - Munich. Part of the draw was because they are both sports fans, especially Joe. Although he has an obvious preference for baseball, football just comes with the territory. And coincidentally, their arrival to Germany would be just in time for a big match at the Allianz arena to watch the home football club Bayern play against  Köln. So, after checking into their hotel, they made their way straight to the stadium. 

Not that either of them really supported one team over the other, being tourists and all, but they figured they might as well cheer for the home team. The crowd was spirited, and rowdy. The two friends found themselves joining in, jumping up and yelling every time Bayern got the goal, or booing bad ref calls.

When the match was over and all the people were filing out of the stands, they agreed to catch a cab to the Hofbräuhaus back in the main square. By the time they wandered in, it appeared to be prime hour because the beer hall was packed. The long tables were so full of patrons but they miraculously managed to squeeze in at one end. Strangers and friends were all sitting shoulder to shoulder, brandishing their impressive one litre beers. The noise of the place was so overwhelmingly boisterous - the booming voices of drunks fighting to be heard over the equally powerful live music. They both ordered a giant beer of their own and picked the most German sounding thing they could find on the menu, laughing as they butchered the pronunciation. 

Three pitchers of beer later, and feeling rather tipsy - they decided to call it quits. The partners meandered, albeit a bit drunkenly, through the beautiful Marienplatz, taking in the sights around them. It was early Spring and the crisp night air still chilled them, encouraging the two to huddle together, walking arm in arm as they went. The sun had long since set, and the city looked even more stunning all lit up at night, the clock tower illuminated. Ben and Joe strolled leisurely back to their hotel, discussing what places they might see the next day.

“I’ve got dibs on the shower,” Joe called as they got back to their room. He felt frigid from the long venture outside and couldn’t think of a better way to warm up than a hot rinse. 

“ _ Or  _ we could just share,” Ben replied slyly, slipping off his coat and hanging it on the rack.

“I’m not  _ that drunk _ , Ben,” he rolled his eyes.

“ _ Wow. _ So, that’s how it’s gonna be, huh,” the blonde laughed, pretending to be hurt, “I’ll have you know that I fancy you enough to shower with you, and I don’t even have to be a smidge drunk to do it.”

“You’re a braver man. What can I say,” Joe shrugged, trying to downplay whatever it was Ben just told him, “or maybe taking in all of this romantic European atmosphere is filling your head with crazy ideas.”

“If you think it’s bad now just wait till Paris,” Ben joked.

Joe smiled in response, shaking his head. He began undressing, neatly folding up his shirt and pants after removing them, and setting them in a neat pile on the chair. He grabbed a clean set of briefs from his suitcase, and went into the bathroom, shutting the door behind him. Ben also stripped down and sat back on the bed, mindlessly scrolling through his phone, waiting for the perfect moment to strike. 

A couple of minutes passed and he went in, naked and unashamed. Thankfully, the door wasn’t locked. He waltzed in casually, pulled open the glass door and stepped into the shower along with Joe, despite his evident look of protest. 

Joe stared at him in absolute shock, “what are you doing?”

“You’ve seen me naked plenty by now, is it really that surprising? Besides, it’s eco-friendly if we share the water,” Ben replied confidently.

Joe sighed in disbelief, but kept his focus on washing his hair.

“What am I gonna do with you,” Joe asked after a moment, still fighting not to look at Ben’s perfect body as he also started lathering up. 

“Love me back.”

The architect almost choked, but instead looked to Ben’s face, expecting to see his usual cocky grin, but he was only met with an earnest expression. Joe’s gaze fell to the tile, immediately too intimidated to look him in the eyes. He couldn’t really come up with the right way to respond. After a few moments of watching water droplets bounce across the floor, his sight slowly lifted. First, the captain’s feet, his legs, the marring from the shrapnel caught his attention.  _ Even his scars are beautiful… _

His thoughts jarred again as Ben took a step towards him. Suddenly, Joe felt like cornered prey, and he wished he could flee more than anything. All of the butterflies were fluttering so violently in his stomach that he could vomit.  _ Say something, _ he urged, forcing himself to meet Ben’s gaze. But there were no words for this, no sentence that even came close to rivaling his emotions in this exact moment. His mind skipped back to the time when Ben was in the hospital, and it took no thought at all for Joe to kiss his hand. At that time, his feelings translated into actions so naturally. And even if right now his thoughts were all too muddled to decipher - he knew that if he didn’t want to be misinterpreted, then it was his turn to make a move. But he just couldn’t bring himself to do it.

“S-sorry. I-” Joe stammered, “I’m already done with the shower, anyways. It’s all yours!”

He awkwardly shoved past Ben, exited the shower, grabbed his towel and ran out of the bathroom, still dripping wet. He couldn’t be bothered to dry himself off, trapped in that suffocating space with him. It’s not that he didn't think of Ben in a romantic way, he did, but  _ that  _ confession _ there _ , under  _ those _ circumstances - it was like his brain short-circuited. He toweled off and got dressed. Grabbing his phone, he got into bed, thankful that this time their room was a double and he wouldn’t have to sleep beside the man he just unintentionally snubbed. 

_ God, this is probably gonna be awkward now. Why am I such an idiot, _ Joe cursed himself. He flipped through the photos he had taken today on his phone, trying to distract himself. Meanwhile, Ben came out of the bathroom, towel hanging loosely around his waist. At first glance, the blonde didn’t seem out of sorts, as far as he could tell.  _ Well, he is a confident guy, so maybe it won’t make any difference to him, _ Joe bargained in his head.  _ Yeah, it’ll be fine. Just act like nothing even happened, _ Joe decided. 

Ben tucked himself under the covers in his bed on the opposite side of the room, but he lay with his back turned to the redhead. There was something undoubtedly amiss in the way he didn’t make some flirtatious remark before switching off the lamp on his night stand - like he had all those nights before. Only silence and darkness enveloped the captain's half of the room, leaving Joe with no choice but to do the same. 

“Good night,” the architect said weakly as he rested his head on the pillow, trying hard to remind himself that tomorrow is a new day. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm sorry. This conflict had to happen.   
I hate it, too.


	14. Kiss and Make Up

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The boys go to Amsterdam. More like Amster-DAMN wtf is happening with this story?

When the sun rose the following morning, there was still a certain tension in the air. However, all romantic stuff aside, Ben and Joe were great friends when it came down to it. So rather than continue the vacation stuck in some kind of rut, they both woke up and made the conscious decision to enjoy their time together, amorous or not.  _ I’ll make it up to him as I go _ , Joe thought while he pulled on his jacket. 

They spent another day in Munich before moving onto Amsterdam, which was Joe’s most anticipated spot on the entire trip. Ben had measurably toned himself down, but other than that, they were still getting along like usual. Joe figured he would have to be the one to fill in the gaps now, and he had a few tricks up his sleeve. 

The engineer’s first priority in the beautiful Dutch city, was to visit the Rjiksmuseum. There was so much to see in the massive collection, which encompassed everything from art to historical artifacts. The two must’ve spent four hours shuffling around the galleries until they’d seen enough. Afterwards, they ventured back to their resort. 

“Did you bring a suit by chance,” Joe asked as they walked into the lobby.

“You know I always come prepared,” the blonde smirked back.

“Good, then it’s dress up time. Oh, and you’re not allowed to ask any questions.”

The pilot shot his friend a skeptical look, but said no more, and as soon as they entered the room, they broke off and rummaged through their suitcases. Each of them laid out their outfits, and they traded off turns using the bathroom until they were both satisfied with their appearance. Ben was standing in the mirror, adjusting his hair when Joe leaned on the door frame behind him and whistled suggestively. 

“Like what you see,” he asked, raising his eyebrows, looking at Joe in the mirror. 

“Who wouldn't,” Joe replied plainly.

It didn't matter how many times he'd seen Ben - dressed up, in his military uniform, or even wearing nothing at all. Joe felt like he would never get used to being so undeniably awestruck by someone. 

“Not too bad yourself,” Ben winked as he passed him in the doorway, pausing for a barely noticeable moment to glance deep into his hazel eyes. As fleeting as it was, there was an intensity burning in that stare. But Joe wasn’t about to question it. 

“So, are you ready?”

“After you,” Ben gestured as he opened the door for them to head out. 

\------------------

Much to the pilot’s surprise, Joe had booked a dinner for them without him having any idea about it. But not just any dinner, it was an evening cruise that sailed along the picturesque Amsterdam canals. Needless to say, this was a big step up from the gondola. It was an intimate setting, with just a few other couples on board, seated at their candle-lit tables. The world outside was perfectly visible through the tall glass windows of the boat. Ben sat back in his chair and thanked the waiter as he filled his glass with champagne. He looked around and appreciated the pointedly romantic atmosphere with a grain of salt. 

“If I didn’t know any better, I’d think this was a date.”

“Who says it’s not?”

Ben’s thoughts drifted as he stared blankly out the window, watching the lanterns that lined the streets pass by. His fingers fidgeted idly with the napkin in his lap. He took a sip of the champagne and brought his focus back to Joe, who was also observing the passing buildings and houseboats. He glanced around the room and felt his stomach drop a little when he noticed that they were probably the only non-couple there - the only pair of guys in the whole place. That same bite of rejection resurfaced momentarily, the shame he felt for pushing his feelings on Joe that night in the shower.  _ Fuck me. This feels so wrong. Does he feel like he needs to do this for me? _

But Ben’s negative thoughts were interrupted by the soft clatter of china as the waiter brought their dishes out. 

“Are you ok,” Joe asked, a look of concern in his eyes.

The captain stared down at his food in silence for a few moments, not really finding himself in any mood to eat. 

“Look, about the other night-”

“Ben, we don’t have to talk about that. It’s nothing,” Joe interjected.

“I  _ wanna  _ talk about it. And it wasn’t  _ nothing _ to me, alright,” he said a bit harshly, “in fact, it’s kind of a big deal.”

“Then tell me what’s wrong,” Joe pressed. 

“First of all, why are we here? Why are you setting me up like this?”

“Setting you up? What are you talking about?”

“How are you gonna just leave me hanging like that? And now you wanna pretend you like me, too?”

“Ben,  _ I do  _ like you,” Joe sighed heavily, “I’m sorry, ok? I’m sorry I disregarded your confession. I’m sorry I’m an awkward person, and sometimes you make me nervous because I like you  _ that  _ much. And maybe all this,” he gestured, “is my way of trying to tell you that.”

Ben bit his lower lip and looked at his friend warily for a few seconds. Joe sat waiting for his response with bated breath, never breaking eye contact. Finally, a small smirk broke across the blonde’s lips and he playfully kicked Joe’s leg under the table. 

“Then why didn’t ya just say so, idiot,” he laughed. 

“You don’t know how badly I wished I could,” Joe admitted.

\------------------------------------

A couple hours later and they were in their hotel room, everything back to normal between them. Joe kicked off his dress shoes and removed his bow tie, placing it back in his suitcase. He began buttoning down his shirt when he paused and turned to look at Ben, who was folding up his suit jacket. 

“Did you still want that shower,” he asked, trying to sound as confident as possible.

Ben glanced over with a noticeably surprised expression, “you sure you won’t chicken out again?”

“I’m offering, aren’t I,” Joe shrugged.

“You know I want to. But I’m just warning you, we’ll come out of there dirtier rather than cleaner,” he winked as he approached the redhead. 

Joe blushed at the crude remark, but didn’t shy away as Ben leaned in to kiss him. It began slowly, with a little hesitation, but grew in passion. Their hands wandering over each other’s bodies, one undressing the other, all the while refusing to part lips. Only when they were both stripped down did Joe pull away.

“If we keep it up we won’t even make it to the shower,” he said, breathless.

Ben laughed seductively, “then let’s go.”

Joe ran the water and they both stepped in. He noted how nice the warm spray felt, despite the fact that he already felt like he was overheating from their prior exchange. Ben pinned him up against the marble wall impatiently, and began trailing kissing up his neck, stopping to nip his ear softly before stepping back. He marveled at the intoxicating sight of Joe in such a vulnerable state. 

The architect ran a hand through his auburn locks and looked at the floor bashfully, “well, uh...what now?”

“You know, what people usually do in the shower,” Ben said coyly as he grabbed a bottle of body wash and squeezed some into the palm of his hand. 

Joe gasped as Ben pulled him in closer, and spun him around so that he was positioned behind him. The engineer could feel Ben’s erection pressing against his backside, but was instantly overwhelmed when he felt a soapy hand begin to stroke his own hard on. He moaned and felt his knees buckle a little as he gave into the pleasure. The blonde nibbled along the crook of Joe’s neck all the way to his shoulder, relishing in the sweet sounds he was coaxing from his partner. 

But Ben didn't want himself missing out on all the fun. So, he abruptly flipped Joe back around, pushing him against the wall once more, and roughly ground their hips together, the soap gliding over their skin in an oddly sensual way. Pressing his lips back to Joe’s, who eagerly returned the kiss, Ben slid his hand around both of their slick cocks, jerking both himself and Joe off at the same time. They had both been reduced to moans and heavy breaths in between kisses, their hips rutting against each other of their own accord. 

“ _ Fuck, Ben _ ,” Joe whimpered as he came and it splattered his abdomen and oozed onto Ben’s hand, which he withdrew and went back to working himself, close to climax. With one final desperate kiss, Ben groaned softly as he finished himself off. They stayed there like that, drowning in the euphoria for a good minute or two. Joe still leaning on the wall, and Ben leaning into him. Finally, the captain looked into his eyes, flashing that charming smile.

  
“Well, I guess we need  _ a real  _ shower now.” 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> You asked for a bonfire.   
I tried to deliver.  
I hate writing sex scenes.  
It makes me wanna die lol.   
WHY DO I DO THIS TO MYSELF?!


	15. Paris is Burning

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Freaky nasty.  
France.

Joe knew that Ben was most looking forward to Paris, so he saved the best for last. The final days of their trip would be spent in the famous “city of love”. Ben definitely knew his way around, having been there a few times before, and he was more than happy to step in as an impromptu tour guide. So, he gladly recommended various restaurants, sights, and activities rather than leave all the choice to Joe. And the architect was equally content to let him take the reins on this one. 

Something Joe didn’t expect was the blonde’s anticipation to drag him through the catacombs. Not that the redhead didn’t find that sort of thing interesting, but he was definitely more inclined to browse the Louvre as opposed to underground stacks of human remains. They had to wait in line forever, but they finally made their way into the cryptic, subterranean tunnels. Another thing Joe didn’t see coming was the horrid influx of flashbacks that hit him like a violent storm surge, forcing him to stop in his tracks.

The two had perused the initial areas of the exhibit without incident, reading placards and examining maps that detailed the history and construction of the grotto. It wasn’t until they were solemnly walking through dimly lit corridors, walls stacked to the ceiling on either side with neatly organized human bones, that the feeling of dread started to overcome him. Being here didn’t feel much different from one of those underground bases they had liberated.  _ Liberated? No, _ Joe thought to himself pitifully, the memories of piles upon piles of carelessly discarded corpses flooded his mind,  _ we were too late. _

Ben noticed that his partner had fallen behind at some point and he wandered back to find Joe, standing off to the side of the path, staring at one particular skull with a glazed look in his eyes.  _ Is he….crying, _ the captain noticed as he grew closer, grabbing Joe by the arm. 

“Joe, hey! Are you alright?”

Joe appeared to snap back to reality, hurriedly wiping the traces of tears from his eyes with his sleeve. 

“Uh, yeah...just...bad memories, ya know,” he forced a smile, sighing and suppressing any rogue thoughts, “I’m okay now.”

He made it the rest of the way through, and managed to keep it together. Back on the surface, they rummaged through the gimmicky gift shop. Even though it was mostly for novelty’s sake, Joe bought some absinthe - perhaps never to be consumed but nonetheless, everyone knows you can’t get the real stuff back in the states. Although it was looking like he might never return at this point, he couldn’t shake the feeling that America was still his home. However, that didn’t stop him and Ben from celebrating during their last night in Amsterdam when he had received the good news that he’d already been approved for a visa. During any downtime on the vacation, Joe would flip open his laptop and apply for more positions as he came across them. He still hadn’t heard anything back yet, but he wasn’t too stressed about it. Fortunately, he had enough saved up to live like a vagrant for awhile if need be. 

Feeling much better to be back on the charming, sunlit streets, Joe perked up. 

“Any suggestions for lunch?”

Ben stood there looking pensively for a moment or two before pulling out his phone and making a call. Joe waited there patiently, listening to the pilot speak French, feeling impressed. Was it basic? Sure. But did it suit him?  _ Definitely.  _

Ben knew Joe well enough by now to learn that he preferred to keep things simple and avoid pretentious places, which was complicated enough as it was in Paris. But he also knew that Joe was an avid fan of a good afternoon tea, and since they had been away from Britain for more than a week now, they were both missing that ritual. So, they were going to do tea - Parisian style. 

The cab dropped them off near a popular tea salon, and the pair wandered in and grabbed a seat. Instead of the usual accompaniment of scones or canapes, they went for the local specialty - macarons, which this spot just so happened to be famous for. And they were damn good. They must’ve polished off nearly a dozen each. Feeling stuffed, they headed out to the next spot on their ‘to-do list’, the Arc de Triomphe. It’s a typical, touristy thing, but they didn’t feel any shame taking countless selfies together in front of the massive monument. 

They jetted back and forth all over the town during their three day stay, seeing this and doing that, eating this or drinking that. In that time, Joe even tried escargot to appease Ben. And to his surprise it wasn’t bad, just a little chewy. They nearly both collapsed trying to see the entirety of the Louvre in one go. Bad idea. And the engineer was less than thrilled to find out how windy it is at the top of the Eiffel tower. Which didn’t, however, deter him from sharing a kiss there with Ben. By now the couple had grown more or less comfortable with sharing affection at random or in public. Well, not that it ever really bothered Ben, but holding hands and kissing in front of other people didn’t embarrass Joe so much anymore. Especially now that he knew his friend felt the same way. And even though they got a double room at their hotel in Paris, they’ve been sharing a bed since Amsterdam, anyways. They hadn’t actually done anything since that night in the shower, but perhaps it was because there was peace and contentedness between them. 

\---------------

Standing at the top of the world, on the iconic landmark of France, they felt level with the night sky surrounding them. Joe looked out at the view of the city below, sparkling with lights like some kind of galaxy. But despite all of its beauty, when he looked over at Ben who was also staring off into the distance, he couldn’t help but think that nothing could compare. He smiled to himself, shaking off the cheesy thought. 

“Hey, you know tonight’s our last night. So, if you had something you wanted to ask me, now might be the time,” Joe joked and nudged the green eyed man playfully. 

Ben laughed and wrapped his arm around the redhead’s shoulders, pulling him close.

“Well, it looks like you don’t need my help to stay. You’re already sorted,” he replied, referring to the visa.

“Aww,” he laughed softly and clung onto Ben’s arm, “but I’ll always need you. After all, a navigator can’t get anywhere without his pilot.” 

The blonde just smiled and shook his head, but Joe could’ve sworn he caught the slightest hint of a blush spreading across his features. 

“Let’s get outta here,” the captain said, grabbing Joe’s hand and whisking him away towards the elevators. 

\----------------------------------

It had been a long and adventurous final day on their trip, and Joe couldn’t have asked for anything better. They were both in bed, feeling completely wiped out by the long day. Ready for sleep, they lay side by side, gazing up at the ceiling. Ben watched as the lights from traveling cars outside made all of the shadows dance on the walls. 

“Will you miss me,” Joe suddenly asked, tone a bit wistful. 

“What d’you mean?”

“We’ve been able to stay together all this time - in the war, on this trip, but we can’t stay like this anymore.”

“Yeah, I guess I'll miss you,” he paused, reaching under the sheets to squeeze Joe’s hand, “probably only a little, though,” he added sarcastically.

Joe tightened his grip on Ben’s hand, “hey, Ben I - I,” he hesitated and the pilot turned his head on the pillow to look him directly in the eyes, only making it harder to get the words out.

“I love you,” he said, barely above a whisper.

Ben grinned back sincerely.

“Are you so sure about that? You know what  _ lovers _ do, right,” he asked flirtatiously.

Joe rolled his eyes and flung a pillow at the blonde. 

“Always gotta ruin the moment, Ben,” he began satirically, “you could've just been a normal person and said it back, but-”

He fell silent as Ben gently placed one index finger to his lips.

“I think I’d rather show you than say it with words,” the captain said seductively as he slung an arm around the redhead’s waist and drew him near.

They were so close their noses were touching, and the pair just stayed there, both heads sharing Ben’s pillow, eyes locked. There wasn’t any pressure, and Joe didn’t feel nervous like he usually did. But there was a tension between them. Like a coil wound so tightly it could snap at any moment. He knows the intentions behind Ben’s words, and he won't deny them. 

Joe leans just the smallest bit forward to close the gap between their lips. He planted one delicate peck before boldly running his tongue over Ben’s lower lip, which they both took as an opportunity to open their mouths just enough to gain some leverage and deepen the kiss. Ben slid his hand from Joe’s waist, past the small of his back to grab his ass possessively. He moaned and rolled his hips forward, rubbing his clothed erection against Ben’s nude one. Sleeping in the same bed never stopped him from sleeping completely bare. The blonde groaned from the contact, squeezing Joe’s ass cheek roughly before yanking off his underwear so he could join him in his nudity. 

Joe kicked the briefs off from around his ankles and slid downward on the bed until his face was about level with Ben’s waist. He pulled the covers off of them, and quickly leaned in to trail kisses along Ben’s navel until he reached the base of his rigid shaft. Trying his best to tease the other, he paused and gazed up into his green eyes, waiting for some kind of impatient response. But the pilot merely raised his eyebrows as if to say  _ well?  _ But his member betrayed him, and Joe noticed it twitch a bit, which made him laugh out of pity before taking the tip into his mouth. Ben threw his head back, eyes clenched shut as Joe made his best effort to suck him off. It was his first time doing something like this, considering that before meeting Ben he never gave much thought to being with a man. The blonde felt the need growing in the pit of his stomach and he stopped Joe with a subtle tug on his pretty auburn hair. 

“Have you ever…”

Joe shook his head. 

“Do we even have any…”

Joe looked at him, obviously confused. Ben got up out of bed and rummaged through his toiletries for a few moments before pulling out a travel sized jar of vaseline. 

“Lucky I have this,” he said confidently as he nonchalantly tossed it onto the bed and lay back down beside his still very puzzled looking partner. 

“Don’t be daft. You get the idea,” Ben laughed, “the question is, do you want to?”

Joe shoved his face flat into the nearest pillow to hide the flustered shade of red his cheeks were turning at such a forward question. 

“Do you even know what you’re doing,” Joe asked skeptically.

“Not one hundred percent, but we can play it by ear, love. Don’t worry, I’ll be gentle,” he said with a wink before placing a reassuring kiss on Joe’s forehead. 

He unscrewed the lid off of the petroleum jelly before casually tossing it aside. Joe didn’t really want to concentrate on what was about to happen, so to distract himself he cuddled close to Ben and kissed him passionately. The blonde playfully bit the architect’s lower lip and snaked his hand between Joe’s legs to languidly stroke his half-erect cock, teasing him back to full stiffness. With his free hand, he gently reached around with his sufficiently lubed up fingers and started to work Joe over with one digit. He paused when he noticed the other visibly tense up. 

“Is it alright? I can stop.”

Despite his grimace of discomfort, Joe shook his head in protest.

“No, it’s ok.”

Ben carried on stroking Joe’s member while simultaneously trying to stretch him out as gently as possible. Joe positioned himself on all fours, so that he could go back to giving Ben a blow job. Seeing the engineer in such a vulgar state, Ben was nearing the end of his patience. He forced in the second finger with a little less care than the first, causing Joe to whimper pitifully and buck his hips forward, Ben’s cock still in his mouth. The blonde felt his dick throb at the sound and he began thrusting his fingers a bit faster in and out of Joe. 

“Fuck. I need you,” he hissed.

He pushed Joe onto his back, pulling his knees apart and positioning himself in between them. Ben quickly slathered his dick in vaseline and slowly began to enter Joe, who cried out and gripped desperately at the sheets until his entire length was inside. Joe’s legs were shaking and his breathing was ragged. His eyes watered at the searing sensation that felt like he was being torn apart. Ben hadn’t moved his hips at all, trying to let him adjust. 

Ben reached forward to grab one of Joe’s hands, pulling it to his lips and kissing the back of it lovingly. 

“Is it too much?”

“What happened to ‘I’ll be gentle’,” Joe tried to joke, the pain stifling his laugh.

“I’ll be okay, Ben. I want this,” he continued, “ I want you.”

Ben smiled down at him warmly and leaned in to kiss him softly before he gradually started to rock his hips back and forth. He took Joe’s cock in one hand and started jerking him off to try and offset the strain with some kind of pleasure. Joe groaned quietly and arched his back to meet the touch, allowing Ben to angle himself better. Bit by bit he quickened the pace, unable to hold back. Joe’s whimpers had subsided into sultry moans with each time Ben rammed his hips in. He didn’t know how much longer he could hang on like this. He never stopped pumping Joe’s length and he could feel it pulsating in his grasp. He thrust into Joe roughly now, staring down at him, eyes half closed in ecstasy and overwhelming desire. 

“_Ben, I’m aaah_,” he whined and tensed up as he came. 

“ _ Oh god, _ ” Ben grunted as he too climaxed, deep inside of Joe, who was still lost in the afterglow of his intense orgasm.

Ben carefully pulled out and collapsed next to Joe, both of them panting and sweaty, visibly glistening in the moonlight. Sticky and breathless, they both rolled on their sides to face each other, entangling their limbs and resting their foreheads against one another. That was how they fell asleep - in each other’s arms, in the city of love, on the last night of their vacation.

And Joe couldn’t have asked for a happier ending. 

  
  
  
  
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**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It's the end, people.  
RIP me trying to write that sex scene lol  
Honestly hardest thing I've ever done maybe?
> 
> I still owe you guys a follow up oneshot on my other joe/ben fic. And maybe if you want I can do one for this, too.
> 
> Unrelated note, old dead ship - but I like angel/nightcrawler and been wanting to write that so...maybe?
> 
> Thank you so much for all your comments, kudos, and support. Love you all to death.


End file.
